A New Perspective
by ObsidianNoir
Summary: Liliruca Arde never expected to break the chains that bound her to the family. However an otherwordly man decided to put her under his wings and teach her how to be free. He would show her possibilities the girl never thought possible. That included being a punching bag as well. Why did she think this was a good idea? Well, at least she got friends now? SI. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**The First Days 1.1**

Liliruca Arde did not expect the day to go like it did today.

Normally the hooded Pallum would be the pack mule of some adventurers again and be treated like garbage. Then she would try to steal some money in order to pay off the others in the Soma family and hope that it would be enough to satisfy those junkies.

She did not expect to be called by Lord Soma himself, in order to be given out to some stranger she never met before

Well, not given out, but it might as well have been.

The man she was following was paying for her, so that she didn't have to steal ever again.

So that she didn't need to work under those despicable adventurers ever again.

The only connection with the Soma family she had now was to update her status there.

That was it.

Naturally, Lili was suspicious.

Anyone would be if a man completely dressed in black bandages, covering everything, asked for a little girl like herself specifically. Not as a supporter, because she wasn't told to carry anything with her.

Not that she didn't take it with her. It was her stuff, after all. No matter how unsightly big her bag was.

Still, the familiar feeling of the bag on her back didn't comfort her. Why should it? Too many bad memories were connected to it. Many moments of pain, while following someone.

Just like this man in front of her.

The black cloak over his body did not make it any less creepy.

It was like a black ghost! The brown eyes didn't make it any less creepy! They were barely visible!

He was her complete opposite. Male, big, black and terrifying.

The first time she met him, she almost died from a heart attack!

Anyway, she tried to ignore the stares people were directing at them as they walked down the streets of Orario and instead frowned at her...helper's back, she supposed.

They've been walking for quite some time and she was starting to wonder where they were headed. The amount of buildings and people thinned slowly. They were starting to reach the area that nobody would live on their free will, also known as a dump. The buildings began to lose color and structure, almost like she was walking forward in time, as the sight got bleaker and bleaker.

Alone, with an older man, in a place like this in silence? It didn't fill her with confidence.

At least she somewhat knew where she was. Fifth district of Orario. She knew the escape routes, so worst came to worst, Lili could try to escape and then lose him in the masses.

Still, she assumed she might as well start some conversation if she had to work for this man. Because of that, she awkwardly cleared her throat.

Seeing no reaction, she decided to try her luck.

"Why would an adventurer want to help someone weak like Lili?" The Pallum asked, tilting her head in the usual cutesy manner she always used with new adventurers.

She froze when the man abruptly stopped and glanced at her.

It was not a pleasant stare. It was a stare she was used to.

Disappointment.

The girl flinched and shrunk a bit.

Great, she already shot herself in the foot with an arrow.

"Cut that third person out. It may be cute to others, but it's creepy to me."

Liliruca shuddered at the words. Not because of the content, but because of the way they were said.

A deep, raspy voice. As if it was barely used or as if someone gurgled glass.

This was the first time the supporter heard him speak. It sounded as creepy as his outfit. It was weird she could understand him clearly though. No muffling, despite the bandages.

And…

She couldn't help and tilt her head.

That was rather tame. She was used being called useless and trash, but a criticism to her speech style?

Totally something she could take with ease.

Anyway, her ears perked up when the man began to walk again. When she started to move after him, he began to gesture with his hand, as he elaborated without even looking at her.

"I could need a second hand to expand business. The kind of work I do requires a blessing. Naturally, it's hard to find someone for my job. Since you are blessed, have a god, who doesn't really care, and, from what I've been told, have no ambitions like other adventurers, it's ideal for me."

Lili's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Did...did he just admit she was the only option available, instead of the best?

Well, at least he was honest, Liliruca thought dryly and she let out a sigh.

Beggars couldn't chose after all and by all means, if it meant to get away from the Soma family, she would accept any dirty work.

"Also, I'm not an adventurer here in Orario," he casually said, ripping her out of her musings.

The Pallum tilted her head in confusion and almost on cue, the man turned around when he came to a stop.

"I'm Orario's number one errand boy, Obsidian Noir," he announced with his gravelly voice, pointing at himself with his thumb.

The Pallum could swear she saw his eyes sparkle with pride and couldn't help but look at him with a half open mouth, disbelief written all over her face.

Lili was certain that this was not something one should be proud of.

This situation was so bizarre, even for Orario's standards.

At least she knew his name now, she thought with a sweatdrop running down her forehead.

Anyway, she nodded slowly and raised her hand, intending to ask where the hell they were going.

"Mr Noir-"

"I don't like the sound of that," Obsidian cut her off immediately, making her pout in irritation. Then, he turned his head away from her and turned right. "We're here."

Following his gaze, she saw that they stopped in front of a house. A rather small house.

It looked alright, compared to the surroundings. Brown wood didn't rot, no windows were broken, as few as there were, and it looked like it had three rooms. Four at most.

Nothing too special, it was basically just a block with a triangle roof, but it didn't look like it would crash down with a wrong step, nor did it appear to have rats.

Much better compared to her previous life, definitely. The girl felt jealous that someone had their own, secure hut. A place to feel safe.

Just before she can ask what's going to happen next, the man turned to her and pointed at the building.

"New home. Your room is next to mine, put your stuff there, then come out when you're done," the man said in a bored tone and leaned against the wall after unlocking the front door.

For a while, Liliruca stood there, frozen and stared at the building with wide eyes.

By all means, it sounded creepy to live alone with an unknown man in a somewhat run down house.

But what caused her freezing was simple.

Her own room.

She never had one before. Much less a proper bed.

Almost mechanically, she made her way into the building.

It was rather bleak. Colorless. The same kind of fading brown like the rest of the building.

Her previous estimation were correct. It was one big room, which apparently served as the kitchen and dining area at the same time and two other rooms. Well, three, but the one in the corner was rather obvious with "bathroom" written over the door.

No decorations, only the barest necessities were present. Spartan was one way to describe it.

Then she reached the bedrooms. Only one of them were open. The other one, closed, had the name "Obsidian" written on a plate.

She could see on the other door her own name.

Walking inside, she put her backpack on the ground and looked around.

A wooden work table with a chair that had a red cushion. A bed roughly a bit above her size, looking recently made as well. A drawer for clothes.

Overall, again, the bare necessities.

It wasn't prepared in a special way at all. Except the table and the drawer, it didn't have much to show in terms of generosity.

It was...

Liliruca took a shaky breath and leaned against the wall.

It was more than what anyone else ever did for her.

Frantically she shook her head and wiped her eyes.

No, she had to be cautious. Who knew what kind of devious stuff this man planned for her.

She did not have that kind of luck. Not after everything that she went through.

Taking another deep breath, she decided to empty her bag another day and walked out of the house. No need to treat everything with suspicion and antagonize the man. Just had to keep it in mind.

"Like it?"

The deep voice shook her out of her musings and the Pallum blinked.

Already, she was outside and staring at the man who housed her, crossing his arms and tapping his right foot impatiently.

Was she that out of it?

"Y-yes! Li-Err, I'm very grateful for your hospitality..." She said, her tone growing quieter with every word. She blushed and clicked her tongue in irritation.

Damn, stopping the cute act was hard.

Was this how the drunks in her so called family were like when they tried to stop drinking and failed?

Hopefully, because she already felt like an idiot.

To her pleasant surprise, Obsidian didn't jump on the moment of weakness and instead shrugged it off.

"Don't mention it. But before we do anything..." He trailed off and lowered himself on one knee. "Do you accept being my student?"

The girl blinked owlishly.

This conversation took a very sharp turn into a direction unknown.

So, she replied in the most appropriate way she could.

"Huh?"

Ignoring her response, the man carried on, his eyes almost...gentle.

"If you don't accept, you can still stay. You don't have to do anything besides maintaining the building. Maybe make me food if you can," Obsidian explained and Lili nodded slowly.

Sounded very generous and suspicious, but she assumed it made sense of an overglorified house maid.

What followed next however, made her ears sharpen up.

"If you accept, I will properly train you in the jobs I do. Train you in speed, endurance, thinking and general competence. But it will be hard and the pay isn't that great really." He chuckled slightly, sounding like a low rumble, growing serious again. "But, I can guarantee you. You will learn a lot of useful things with me. Grow stronger."

He extended his arm in an angle, palm open.

A worry free life, only having to worry about cleaning and cooking.

Or grow stronger.

Not being the weak supporter everyone could abuse and extort.

Not being someone who couldn't live independently. Who couldn't be free.

She didn't need to think twice about it before deciding her path.

Liliruca Arde grabbed his hand in the same angle and nodded with fire in her eyes.

"I accept."

Despite the bandages, she could imagine the sharp like grin on her...teacher's face as he chuckled, squeezing her hand, before standing up and nodding to her.

"Good. Welcome to my world then."

The Pallum gulped nervously.

Why did she feel like she just made a deal with the devil?

Before she could ponder about it, the man stood up and threw her a small envelope. Catching it, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"First job," he grunted out and pointed into the opposite direction of his...their house. "A shop four kilometers away from here needs this letter. Deliver it in twenty minutes."

The girl blinked owlishly, letter in the right hand.

Then she glared at her teacher in outrage.

"Twenty minutes?!" She yelled and waved the envelope around in demonstration.

There was no way she could get there in twenty minutes without running non stop!

"Yes, I am taking it easy for now," the man replied with a shrug and Liliruca couldn't help but gape at him.

"Easy?!"

The man wasn't fazed by her exclamation and instead stared at her like a statue.

It really unnerved her and the rage that was boiling simmered back down a bit.

"I would have asked you to do this in ten. Besides, I told you I would train your speed and endurance. Both are important as a good errant boy, so we have to build that up. Better start early," he explained in a boring tone, but then stopped, as if something came up in his mind. Thoughtful, he scratched his chin. "Well, in your case it's errand girl, I guess."

The Pallum opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times in disbelief.

"How am I supposed to do this in twenty minutes?!" She hissed out after regaining her wits and again, Obsidian stared at her in an apathetic way.

"Run. Duh," he shrugged at her and turned around. Then however, he stopped and raised his finger. "Before I forget...Remember, no third person. Neutral impressions are better than hit and miss impressions. Also, there will be plenty of jobs today. You won't stop moving until the sun goes down, so keep your focus."

Before she could bring out any objections, he walked off, leaving her standing alone in front of their house.

For a while, Liliruca just stood there.

Then she grabbed her hair and gave out a muffled scream of frustration.

What a shitty teacher!

* * *

 **The First Days 1.2**

Liliruca didn't know why she took this so serious.

Maybe because the man didn't abuse her like the Soma family.

Maybe because she wanted to prove she could do this.

Perhaps she believed him when he said it was training.

Whatever the reason, she hoped it was worth it, because she was currently dying from lack of oxygen.

Having run without break, crashing into a few people in her hurry, she gasped for air as she supported herself on a wall. Taking her hood off, she fanned with her hand to cool off at this sunny day.

At least the Pallum finally arrived.

As far as she knew.

By all means, she wouldn't be surprised if it turned out this was part of training as well. Saying "whoops, wrong place" and force her to figure out the location herself.

For once however, luck was on her side.

After she managed to stop wheezing as if she had a disease, the wooden window doors to her left opened. Though they were not window doors, but actually doors that covered the counter of the shop.

The shop she was supposed to deliver the letter.

New Age. Shop for Everything.

The name sounded even more tacky with those big, wooden letters on that building.

Anyway, she moved away from the wall and stepped in front of the shop.

Middle aged, wrinkles, bald and wearing a simple brown shirt suited for such a weather.

Overall, a rather plain looking man.

The man appeared to sort something in the background, books into a shelve.

The Pallum wasn't an expert, but such a set up was weird. Normally one would sell food with such a stand like shop. Not something different without letting them in.

By all means, it looked more like a storage than a place that sells stuff.

Before she could ponder more about it, he glanced up, eye landing on her and blinked for a moment.

Then comprehension dawned on his face. He gave her a pleasant smile and put his hands on his hip.

"Oh, you must be Lord Noir's apprentice he told me about!" He exclaimed in a joyful tone and Liliruca tilted her head with a skeptical look.

"Lord Noir? Is he a noble?" She asked in disbelief.

She tried to imagine her...teacher, the shady mummy as a noble. Sitting on a throne, attending tea parties, whatever else rich people did.

Liliruca shook her head and blinked before letting out a deep breath.

Nope, not seeing it.

The shopkeeper chuckled and shook his head.

"Not exactly, but I respect him too much to refer to him with any other title. Well, any other title lower than that," he replied, eyes glazed over as if he remembered something beautiful.

The girl nodded slowly and bit her lip.

It creeped her out a bit.

She decided poking any further might lead to stuff she might be better off not knowing.

Extending her arm, she presented the letter, which the man quickly accepted.

By all means, her business was done now.

But curiosity got the best of her.

"If I might ask...what's in there?" Liliruca asked, biting her lip, feeling a bit awkward. The man perked up after he was about to pocket it, then pointed at it.

"Oh, I believe it has some...recommendations on it," he replied, chuckling to himself.

The girl gave him a forced smile.

Of course it was secret. What did she expect?

Just as she was about to walk away, she heard a hand slap skin. Turning around, she saw the man's hand on his forehead, before he gestured at her in exasperation.

"Oh, where are my manners? Gustav! A pleasure," he said with a smile and extended his left hand, golden ring on it.

She blinked, before shaking it.

"Liliruca Arde," she replied dumbly. After letting go, she thought furiously about how to keep this conversation going since it already started, before putting on a smile. "Are you from here?"

The shopkeeper waved his hand in response.

"Oh, no. Recently moved in a few months ago. I come from a far away land. Quite the culture shock, I can tell you that!" He laughed loudly and the Pallum couldn't help but giggle as well.

His joy was infectious.

"Sounds fun."

Gustav's face sobered up a bit and he looked up into the sky with a soft expression.

"It is. Discovering so many new things, feeling the taste of adventurer as one travels through the lands as a free man...Hah, I wouldn't exchange this life for anything."

At his quiet voice, Liliruca felt a pang in her heart and her smile wavered.

"That is...good to hear," she replied in a hesitant tone and averted her gaze, before closing her eyes.

Biting her lip, she hated herself for the feeling she had right now.

An all too familiar feeling.

Envy.

It wasn't his fault, but she couldn't help but feel slight resentment at the fact that someone could be so happy and free, unlike her.

Taking a deep breath, she shoved that feeling aside and opened her eyes again.

Only to see Gustav rummaging in his shop for something. It only took him a few moments to come up again with a book in hand.

"Ah, before I forget...Here, take this. As a token for our first meeting," he said in a warm tone, extending the book at her.

Blinking, she hesitantly took it and stared at it.

"The Forge of Warfare. A weapons and martial arts book…" She muttered, before shaking her head and giving the book back with a flushed face. "Uhm, I can't possibly-"

Gustav interrupted her with a head shake and gestured at her with a fatherly grin.

"Please, accept it. I would be ashamed if I wouldn't do this for Lord Noir's student and a hardworking girl like yourself."

"I...appreciate it," Liliruca said, nodding slowly, before starting to pocket it somewhere.

After the man told her to wait for a bit more, she covered her face in embarrassment.

Gods, was she really used to being fate's punching bag that she would try to decline free stuff?

Wait, no. She used to be a thief.

Maybe it was because the man was nice and she liked nice people.

Until the Soma family decided to screw them over and make them not so nice to her.

She shuddered.

The Pallum hoped that whatever connection the man had with her teacher, it would protect him.

There were enough people whose lives were ruined by those damn adventurers because of her.

Having calmed down, she waited for Gustav to finish whatever he wanted to do.

When he finally resurfaced, her heart dropped.

"Now, we shouldn't keep you here much longer! I was tasked to give you another job," he said, before heaving something onto his counter. Wiping some sweat of his forehead, he smiled at her as he brought out a map.

"Here is another package. Needs to be delivered to the book store right over...here."

Liliruca stared blankly at the map, then back to what she was supposed to deliver.

It was even bigger than the last package!

It's an entire crate! Filled with food and bottles!

That wasn't even the worst, considering her carrying Skill!

"That's like an hour away!" She exclaimed in anger, pointing at the map.

Gustav in turn gave her an amused look.

"Didn't he warn you when he said you would be moving non stop?" He asked and Liliruca grabbed her hair in irritation.

"I thought it was hyperbole!" She shouted and Gustav chuckled, making her even more frustrated.

"He never does that." Shaking his head, he let out a sigh. "As expected, Lord Noir is always so honest!"

"More like blunt," she muttered after saying goodbye to the shop keeper, heavy weight on her back.

After she was certain a long enough distance away, she let out a deep sigh.

Not even a day and she was already regretting her decisions.

Well, at least Obsidian wasn't a drunk, Liliruca thought dryly as she began to jog down the street again.

It took her four attempts to enter the key into the door, before finally opening it and entering her new home.

The moment she took a step in, she fell flat on her face, before letting out a long, suffering groan.

By all means, she wanted to fall alseep on the spot. Her clothes were sweat drenched anyway and she was too tired to care.

Sadly, this house didn't belong to her alone.

"Took you long enough."

Obsdian's raspy voice made Liliruca look up with the small reserves she had left and saw the shady man sitting on the table with a plate of food on the opposite side. In his hands was a book as he stared at her in a neutral way.

'Legend of the Seas'.

The girl weakly raised an eyebrow.

Wasn't that some adventurer love story?

She didn't know he was into that.

"Food. Eat slowly or you get a tummy ache. Then take a bath," he grunted out and immediately her stomach grumbled almost like his voice.

With a flushed face, she crawled over to the chair and struggled to get on it.

After what felt like an eternity, she managed to sit down with heavy breath and stared on the plate.

Boiled potatoes, vegetables and a cooked steak.

Not a very beautiful sight, more amateur made.

By all means, it was not a meal that would be served at an inn.

But food was food and she was not picky. It looked edible enough.

Muttering her thanks, she began to ate in silence while Obsidian turned his attention back to his book.

The taste was alright. Nothing to write about, but it didn't make her barf and it filled her stomach.

The silence made her a bit uncomfortable, so she gave her caretaker a few glances, the valis she received during the day weighing heavily in her pocket.

Not everyone gave her money on her jobs, but she still made more than she would usually make as a supporter.

Because of that, she waited in agony for Obsidian to take it away from her.

Swallowing down her food, she sighed after a while.

He's was making her move first.

Fine.

Searching through her pockets, the motions made her teacher glance up from his book.

"Here is your money..." Liliruca muttered as she put the pouch on the table, not looking him in the eye.

When he didn't move, she looked up in confusion, only to see the man stare at her, the bandages moving slightly.

If she saw it right, it was because he raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"It's your money. If you want to give it to me, fine. But are you sure?" He asked slowly, switching his glance from her to her money.

Liliruca blinked and took the pouch back, carefully and slowly. When she pocketed it, she stared at him with wide eyes.

"I...I can keep it?" She asked in an uncertain tone and this time she could clearly see him rolling his eyes before turning his attention back to his book.

"Do you think I'm that much of a prick?" He grumbled and the girl couldn't stop herself from replying in a dry tone.

"Yes."

Immediately, she clapped her mouth shut, but the damage was already done.

The man's head snapped up and he squinted his eyes behind the bandages at her.

She held her breath and shrunk, cursing herself for screwing this up in less than twenty four hours.

Now she was going to get kicked out after he stopped staring at her.

Stopped staring at her.

Anytime now.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion and Obsidian still stared at her. The girl couldn't help but blink.

Was this some sort of new torture method? Because it succeeded in freaking her out a bit.

To her surprise and relief, he snorted in amusement and turned his eyes away yet again.

The girl let out a deep breath and focused on eating, not even trying to figure out what that was about.

Sadly, the surprises didn't end there.

"So, how was your day?" Obsidian asked out of the blue and Liliruca glanced up, seeing him still reading.

"You know how it went," she grumbled in an accusing tone, poking into her steak a bit.

"Humor me," the man replied nonchalantly and the girl figured out she could be as blunt as she wanted to.

The man apparently liked that.

Anyway, she began to recount what she has been doing.

First she had to carry around the crate almost the entire day, because apparently they were meant for several people all over the place.

Blacksmiths for some quick dinner, random households ordering bread, a pig tailed, ditzy girl with big boobs crying tears for having some free stuff, alcohol for bars…

It was easier to tell where she didn't went.

Not to mention that after she was done with that damn crate, she had to deliver letters around as well.

Suffice to say, she made a whole tour around Orario, only having short breaks and some bites of food offered to help her get through the day. Mostly, she ran a lot, stumbled into other people and more than not often fell down on the ground because some of her "clients" were quite insistence on their time limit.

For some reason however, Obsidian focused on one specific thing of what she said.

"Book?" He asked with intrigue, the biggest emotion shown so far aside from dry amusement.

The girl nodded and pulled it out of her bag.

"It was a gift. From New Age. Pretty nice man...You know him?" She asked, tilting her head and he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"Him and his family. Must have missed them."

"Family?" Liliruca asked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

Now that he mentioned it, she could remember the ring on his hand.

She let out a "huh". The more you know.

"Wife and daughter. Teenager of sixteen years as far as I remember," the man elaborated and closed his book. "Hard working. Polite. Full with joy. Perfect merchants."

"He seemed to respect you a lot," Liliruca said in a curious tone and Obsdian shrugged, waving with his hand.

"In context in makes sense."

"And the context is…?" She asked, trailing of and she could see her teacher smirking at her from underneath the bandages.

"Who knows?" He replied smugly and the girl deflated.

But since she had the ball rolling, she might as well keep up. Get to know the guy who was her caretaker now.

"What did you do?" She asked, picking on the last rests of her food.

"Twice the amount of work. Better. Faster. Smarter. Any other positive adjectives in comparative form," he began to count on his hand, before giving up and leaning back on his chair, crossing his arms.

The Pallum's mouth thinned.

Okay, now she definitely knew that this man was teasing her and was probably going to do that in the future as well.

And he expected her to snark back as well.

Fine by her.

"Yes, yes, I get it. You're better than me," she said, raising her hands in mock surrender. The man chuckled in response and stood up to enter his room.

Moments later, he came back out.

"Good that the student learns fast." He threw something at her and she caught it. "Here. New clothes."

She did a double take.

A white, simple night gown. Freshly bought.

"Huh?" She said dumbly and raised her head with wide eyes.

"Those rags aren't good for business. You need to have something better," the man explained, walking past her and taking her plate. "Besides, I don't want to clean up your bed because you slept with dirty clothes."

The snark shook her out of her shock and she smirked on her own, crossing her arms.

"I don't want to hear that from you." Then she narrowed her eyes as she stared at his back as he goes over to the sink with her plate. "You ever take those off?"

"Nope," he replied with a pop, beginning to wash the dirty dishes aside from her own.

"Why not?" Liliruca asked, tilting her head and the man froze for a moment.

"I'm ugly and don't like my looks."

The blank tone threw her off and she blinked at his back as he moved again.

He...sounded a lot more serious than she expected.

She was about to ask what that was about when Obsidian glanced at her, then nodded towards the bathroom.

"Anyway, you go wash yourself. I clean this up."

It sounded more like an order than a request.

Apparently she hit a sore spot.

Deciding not to push her luck, she walked towards it.

Entering the place, it was a bit narrow, but it was big enough to have a tub in it.

A tub with hot water inside already.

She didn't take long to discard her "rags", as her teacher aptly described them, before carefully soaking herself in.

A moan escaped her, before she sunk completely into the water.

When was the last time she had a bath?

Whenever it was, this one felt a lot more soothing than she expected. It relaxed her, stress she didn't know she had so much of began to drain away from her.

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed a warmth she never got to experience before...

* * *

 **The First Days 1.3**

Time passed by rather quickly for her and she began to have a...routine to her life.

Five days in a row, she would be working full hours. Delivery jobs, ranging from verbal messages to giant crates, but also other jobs, like cleaning dishes, cooking and repairing rooftops.

Basically every odd job under the sun was her job now as well.

Some times, Liliruca worked with Obsidian as well.

She felt very inept compared to him.

He wasn't lying when he said he was better than her in many way.

He had a hell of a stamina. A lot more than she did. Faster, more efficient…

But, she couldn't hate him for that. He set up an example and he taught her the jobs until she could do it on her own.

Not to mention the specific training they did after those five days for two days.

General skill training and lessons.

On the practical side, she was taught parkour, information gathering in form of observation and eavesdropping, short cuts and negotiation skills, all those he taught her sternly, but patiently.

On days where she didn't have so many jobs and wasn't in danger to pass out, they would review that knowledge in the evening. Aside from that, they would focus on her mathematics and linguistics skills.

Most of the times it was parkour though, because her teacher was sadistic.

Still, for all the jobs she did, all the skills she gained…

None of those were directly involved with the dungeon in any way, which confused her a lot.

As much as she despised the place, almost equally to the Soma family, she could not deny it was the best place to make money and from what she heard, the best place to train those with a Falna.

When she confronted him about it, he wasn't very forthcoming.

As in, avoided the question by asking another question.

"Do you wanna go back there?" He had asked in an incredulous tone and Liliruca couldn't answer it back then.

Still, she wanted to know the answer, so she decided to take a more indirect route.  
"Why aren't you in the dungeon?"

"Because I can't," the man replied back then, awfully somber. Then, as sudden as it came, it disappeared, leaving the usual gruff teacher behind. "Also, it's ten times more dangerous than these jobs. Now peel those potatoes."

She didn't understand what he meant with "I can't".

He was skilled, but perhaps he didn't had a family and couldn't register anymore? Or maybe he didn't have a blessing at all?  
Or maybe he was ashamed of something?

Obsidian Noir didn't struck her as a coward, but what did she know? They didn't know each other.

The Pallum decided not to break her head over it too much. There were too many possibilities to go through.

Anyway, that's how her days went. It was...fulfilling, not being treated like dirt and working for herself.

Still, it was a bit...boring after she got into the routine. There were only so many times new stuff could happen.

She sure hoped it would raise her stats once she got her update. It would make her jobs much easier.

When that was, she didn't know. Obsidian decided that for her and so far, he didn't make a peep about it.

Liliruca learned how to take her victories and take what she learned not as granted.

Anyway, at the moment, she tiredly strolled into her room as the sun began to set, coming back from a long, long day of cleaning a house nearby while the owner was gone.

Sighing, she removed the apron around her and let herself flop down on her bed.

Five minutes of resting was the maximum she could afford before the next and final job of the day, but she was going to make the most out of it!

Not that she knew if there was going to be a job, but one could never know with that slave driver of a mummy.

Of course in that exact moment, the door slammed open.

Instinctively she jumped her bed, standing in attention, her body tensed like a board.

What kind of surprise had he this time in store for her?!

As she expected, Obsidian stood nonchalantly at the door. He froze mid step, checking her out from head to feet and raised an eyebrow.

"At ease, we're not the military." She blushed in embarrassment and relaxed as much as she could. He nodded in approval and threw something at her. "Today we are going to the Hostess of Fertility."

"For a job?" She asked after catching the fabric and looked at it.

Her eyes widened.

It wasn't a maid outfit like she saw at the inn, it was a dress.

A black summer dress with white flower motive on it.

Something little girls in happy families would wear.

It was still fancier than the cloaks and plain shirts.

Looking up with wide eyed confusion, she saw the man smiled at her with a rare soft expression.

"For celebration," he rasped out and the girl tilted her head.

"Celebrate what?"

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned against her doorframe.

"Your one hundredth job. Didn't ya notice?"

The Pallum opened her mouth, then closed it with a thoughtful expression.

Ranging from three to six jobs per day to the night per day...

Liliruca blinked.

Huh. She had been with him for roughly a month.

"Wow, you can actually do math. Congratulations," Obsidian drawled out, making her blush at the realization she talked out loud. Then he chuckled and shook his head as he made his way out. "Seriously now, wash yourself, take that dress and come down." Then he stopped and glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. "And don't daydream like you do in the bath."

The former Supporter threw one of her books after him in response, spluttering at the same time as he was laughing.

"Why do you tell me to dress up, if you still look like a mummy?" Liliruca asked in an exasperated tone as she walked down the streets with her teacher to her right.

The picture was something not even the most drugged up artist could make up.

On one side, a petite girl, freshly bathed, hair combed to make it more smooth, with a brand new dress and shoes.

On the other side…Obsidian Noir. By far the most shadiest person she has ever met and that meant something in Orario. Who was over half a meter taller than her and talked like he gurgled glass on a daily basis.

She was also sure he didn't actually have several sets and kept wearing the same rags.

Which weirdly, didn't stink or rot at all. Somehow.

The man in question threw her a dry look and twirled his hand at himself in a dramatic manner.

"The Mummy is a well respected fashion style only for the most fabulous of ugly men," he explained in a mocking tone and the girl shook her head in amusement.

"Hey!"

Of course at that time, the world decided she had reached her happiness quote and sent down its angels.

Its drunk, stupid, aggressive angels of the Soma family, to be exact.

Instinctively, she hid behind her teacher, who calmly stared at the three thugs stumbling over to them, Soma wine in hands.

The girl looked at them in disgust.

Great, so these were the lucky few able to gather the money for their regular fix.

Oh joy.

"Can I help you?" He asked calmly. As she clutched at his sleeve, she noticed how his body was tensed to move at any moment.

Not that the drunks noticed, but she didn't underestimate them.

Those were still adventurers who went into the dungeon regularly.

Anyway, the three drunks gave each other dirty, amused looks, before the "leader" in the middle laughed loudly and poked Obsidian on his chest, who didn't budge at all.

"Yeah, you can give us our supporter back! We adventurers have more need of her than a loser like you!" The man exclaimed surprisingly eloquent considering the alcohol.

Still, Liliruca curled up her fists in anger and disgust. She was torn between running away and trying to protect the only somewhat decent person in the vicinity, her teacher.

"Come on, Arde! You shouldn't spend your time outside your family! Everyone's missing you!" The other thug drawled out, a dirty grin on his face.

As they approached them, Liliruca stiffened and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth in frustration on Obsidian's cloak.

Not now. Not again.

Not when she was finally free.

"Did Soma permit it?"

The steps immediately stopped and the girl opened her eyes in shock.

Obsidian's voice was deeper and almost growled, as he almost appeared bigger than usual.

She never heard that kind of tone from him before, but she could easily he was pissed.

Which would explain the utter lack of respect towards the god.

Still, the thugs were only intimidated for a small moment, before they grinned arrogantly at him.

"Heh, sure he did!"

Liliruca wouldn't be surprised. The god was so busy with his wine, he would have said yes to anything, she thought dryly.

Her musings came to a stop when Obsidian took a step forward, exhaling deeply as if he let his emotions out. The thugs took fearful steps back and the Pallum could swore there were sparks around his hands for a moment.

Suddenly, he stopped, before clenching his fists, followed by relaxing them again.

Then he glanced at her with an uncertain expression. Liliruca blinked in confusion.

Did his eyes...become softer?

She couldn't verify it in time when he turned back to the drunks, taking in a deep breath and nodding at them.

"Translation. He did not. Got it." He turned around and put his right hand on her left shoulder. With his other arm he casually waved them goodbye. "Have a nice evening, gentleman."

She could only see the barest of anger beginning to boil over from her fellow family members, when her teacher abruptly slid his arms behind her and scooped her up like a princess.

Before she could object, the man dashed away like a madman.

Liliruca was not proud to admit it, but she screamed like hell as she held onto her teacher for dear life.

In high speeds, they took turns, left and right, up and down so she didn't even know where they were after the first few seconds. When she tried to open her eyes, the wind made her shut them rather quickly.

After what felt like a few minutes, they came to a stop and he put her down.

She stumbled a bit, taking a deep breath despite the fact she didn't move at all and hunched over a bit. Looking around, she realized they were right in front of the Hostess of Fertility, with iss very busy and celebrating interior sounding through the doors and windows.

With the left hand on her hip, she used her right hand to gesture at Obsidian in bafflement.

"How did you…?" She trailed off, before shaking her head as she tried to calm down with deep breaths.

"Who said I ever used my top speed?" He replied smugly, breath perfectly steady and Liliruca narrowed her eyes at him.

That only made it more suspicious.

This kind of speed was something she expected from a level three at minimum. Able to escape adventurers with ease, even if they were level one, and running around that made her look pathetic despite her training.

Why didn't she ever heard from this guy, if he was so powerful compared to most in Orario?

Her eyes widened.

Wait…

 _I'm not an adventurer here in Orario._

Did he mean he was an adventurer elsewhere, but then put up his coat and retired?

It would make...some sense. It would answer her question if he had a blessing of some so-

The girl did a double take in an incredulous manner.

Hold on.

The bastard was holding back on the jobs, giving her the false hope she was actually catching up!

And if he was that fast, why didn't he do the harder jobs?!

However, the girl had a feeling she would regret asking that. Instead, she focused on a more important matter to her.

"If you could do that, why not beat them up?" She asked after straightening up her back.

Surprisingly, the man sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Too much attention and a pain in the ass." He shrugged and smiled at her. "Besides, today is celebration day. Can't spoil that with a street fight."

Liliruca blinked.

That was...rather considerate of him. The latter at least, not the former of what he said.

She smiled back at him and fixed her clothing a bit. Then, they entered the building.

Looking inside, it was your typical inn.

Counter and tables full, maids of varied species going in between and serving food, the dwarf owner preparing the food and lots of happy conversations and shenanigans. Various smells hung in the air, ranging from warm sweet smell of pie to the stench of alcohol.

Anyway, it was rather overwhelming. It was a different atmosphere from her time in the Soma family.

By all means, she felt out of place.

She dryly glanced at Obsidian, who looked around without looking bothered at all.

She felt _very_ out of place.

A cat maid finally managed to fight through the narrow ways and welcomed them. Her teacher immediately took control of the situations.

"Chip chip choo, table for two," he droned out in a blank tone and the two females stared at him for a moment.

Did he just rhyme?

Glancing at each other, the girls decided to ignore that one for the sake of their sanity and the maid led them to their small table, on the other side of the room.

They did gather some weird looks as they walked by.

No, not them. Obsidian.

Who could blame them. He may be often seen doing his odd jobs, but a black bandaged creeper was still an unusual sight to uphold.

Anyway, they got seated on opposite sides of a round table, Obsidian's back to the door. To Liliruca's surprise, the maid left only to be replaced by the owner herself, Mia Grand, or most commonly known, Mama Mia. The boisterous woman put her hands on her hips with a wide smile.

"If it isn't our mysterious errand boy, Obsidian Noir!" She laughed and slapped the man on the back. "You still wear those bandages? Here I wondered if I ever got to see your face!"

"Over my dead body. So you have to wait a long time for that," her teacher replied dryly, only making the owner smirk more. He rolled his eyes and to Liliruca's embarrassment, pointed at the girl with small amusement in his voice. "Something special, we are celebrating."

"Well, who am I to deny such an offer! Coming right up!"

With that, the woman walked back to her position in a cheerful manner, leaving the two guests alone.

"You know them?" Liliruca asked after a small period of silence between them and Obsidian threw her a dirty look.  
"What? I eat. I go out. It's nothing to tell a story about." He shrugged. "Also, networking."

She narrowed her eyes.

She...expected a lot more than that.

Liliruca shrugged.

Oh well.

Before she could strike another conversation, another maid arrived. This time, it was a blonde elf, who stoically offered water to each of them.

Then, her eyes met Obsidian's.

Both of them nodded at each other.

"Noir."

"Ryuu."

The elf huffed and shook her head.

"Disrespectful as ever," she said dryly and Obsidian shrugged without care.

"The day I call someone by their last name is the day I wear a frilly dress," he drawled out.

Liliruca switched her gaze with worry, before the two of them gave each other small smiles.

Then she turned to the Pallum and bowed slightly.

"My name is Ryuu Lyon. You must be Liliruca Arde. A pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, yes...Same," the student replied awkwardly, crossing her arms underneath the table with discomfort. The elf stared at her, before turning her attention back to Obsidian.

"It's been a while," Ryuu said with a frown, crossing her arms.

"Well, gotta save up money," the man replied in a simple tone and waved with his hand. "Besides, always coming here would make people think I can't cook."

"I didn't expect you would care so much about your self image," the elf asked a calm tone, but Liliruca knew teasing when she heard it.

To her surprise, her teacher didn't snip back, but instead snorted dryly and gestured to himself.

"I'm a bandaged creeper without a proper job, with an underaged girl as a student. I need all the boost I can get."

The girls at the table blinked at him and Liliruca narrowed her eyes.

There it was again.

Those random bursts of a negative self picture that came up. Sometimes in a serious manner, sometimes hidden beneath jokes.

It didn't make sense to her.

"Of...course," Ryuu slowly replied and the Pallum glanced at her.

Was the elf confused? By what?

It was like she had a conversation with someone and that someone suddenly decided to shift the topic and mood entirely.

Her ears then perked up, seeing more guests enter the tavern.

"I must attend other guests. Enjoy your stay," Ryuu said to them, before excusing herself.

Not a beat later, the cat maid from before arrived and presented two plates of curry for them.  
Liliruca stared at them.

Compared to Obsidian's cooking, this was heaven's above in quality. Almost shining and beautifully arranged, it was begging her to eat it.

Her mouth was watering and she quickly removed the drool from her mouth.

Hearing a chuckle, she looked up and remembered she wasn't alone. Flushing, she shrunk into her seat.

Weirdly, he didn't tease her, instead smiling warmly at her, raising his glass.

"To your one hundredth job, my student. Eat up."

Something clicked in her heart.

He cared.

Some people would call it weird or stupid to not realize it, but for Liliruca, the revelation only occurred now. Who could blame her? Her whole life was filled with betrayal, abuse and despair. Who could blame her not believing in good? In the chances of her life changing?

Only now did it properly register to her.

He cared. Honestly cared.

Only someone would care, would take her away from abuse, give her a safe house, a warm bed, a good job, training, paying expenses and gods knew what not.

Obsidian Noir didn't want to make use of her. He wanted to give her a better life. Sure, he wasn't always the nicest guy in the world, but it was still leaps over what others ever did for him.

This realization...it hit her.

Her vision became blurry.

"What, never ate curry before?" A voice asked distantly and she numbly shook her head.

"Not...really..." Liliruca whispered, tears running down her eyes.

Suddenly, a finger snap in front of her eyes snapped her out of her funk and she blinked in shock.

Her teacher stared at her with a frown.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked with concern and the girl realized where she actually was.  
"I-I'm fine!" She loudly exclaimed and wiped her eyes, before chuckling awkwardly. "Let's dig in!"

Focusing solely on her food, she didn't dare to look up, trying to force back the tears. But as much as she hated it, she couldn't stop.

The reveal that someone actually cared _and_ had the power to protect her in a sense, made her feel vulnerable.

It made her feel weak.

A napkin suddenly appeared in her view. Looking up with her tear stained eyes, Liliruca saw how Obsidian was looking away as he offered the piece of cloth.

"You are pretty sweaty. Guess it's warm in here," he said in a nonchalant tone and wiggled with the cloth. "You're dripping all over the table."

The girl blinked for a moment, before managing a small smile and accepting the cloth.

"Thank you..." She muttered before wiping her face with it.

"You're welcome, kid," he heard him say in a soft tone, but she was more busy trying to dry herself.

She didn't know how long it took, but she finally managed to calm down. Her eyes were red, but she felt better now.

However, before she returned to eating, Liliruca tilted her head at her teacher.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, gesturing at his bandages.

He in turn quietly reached behind his head.

The girl stood up and leaned forward with wide eyes, filled with expectations.

He loosened up the cloth around his mouth.

She held her breath.

They began to reveal patches of light skin and his lips.

Liliruca bit her lip, trembling with excitement.

Then the bandages immediately tightened against his skin again, only leaving an open gap big enough for his mouth.

Her head hit the desk.

The man wheezed, clutching his chest as he was dying from laughter.

On the one hand, she now knew how he laughed. Like a baloon losing air.

On the other hand…

She pouted and tried to hit him, who easily avoided her "assault".

Oh, she just knew he was teasing her!

The rest of their little celebration went by in a blur.

They had fun, ate a lot and the service was great.

Especially Ryuu Lyon was someone she warmed up to. Despite her quiet nature, she was rather sassy in a polite manner. Something she would love to learn and she believed they got along rather well for a first meeting. From the elf, she managed to get some funny stories about Obsidian, especially his early days.

Apparently every master was a beginner.

The accident with his arm being stuck in a wall and having a cat use him as a seat for an hour was her favorite.

The man tried to wave it off, but Liliruca could notice how his voice was less gravely when he was embarrassed.

Good to know.

There was one moment where Obsidian left her, but he came back a few minutes later, not looking different at all, so she dismissed it.

At the moment, she had a piggy back ride on her teacher. Normally she would be more prideful about this, but she was at the verge of falling asleep.

"You had fun tonight?" She heard her teacher ask and she slowly nodded.

"Hm. Thanks for that," Liliruca quietly said, eyes half open.

"No problem," the man replied and she heard a door click open. "We're here. You need help changing?"

She shook her head and struggled to the ground.

"No, I think I can do this..." She let out a yawn and smiled at him. "Night, teacher."

As she closed the door, she could hear him mutter something in a soft tone.

"Sleep well, Liliruca."

Her smile grew and she locked the door.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Observer**

Humming, a young, innocent looking girl strolled through the night, headless of the people around her and instead focusing on other stuff.

The clear sky above her short, green hair, with the stars shining down on her.

The wind gently pushing against her mini skirt and brown vest.

The bread in her mouth, with the crumbles falling down on her white shirt underneath her west.

Opening her red, mischievous eyes, she chuckled and finished her bread, clapping her hands to clean them.

Not a single person paid her any attention. Just how she liked it.

Letting out a deep, satisfied breath, she jumped onto a bridge railing and crossed her arms behind her back, playfully stepping forward in rhythm of her slow, relaxed humming.

Ha, what a good day.

Her favorite bakery in Orario was as skilled as ever, the weather was clear and she managed to prank _two_ gods for the price of one!

Giggling childishly, she played around with a small bottle in her hand, before smugly pocketing it in her travel bag, slung over one her her shoulder and secured next to her hip.

Green would suit Loki and Hermes. Probably. They could use a style chance every once in a while

It was a good thing she was so easily...ignored or else it wouldn't have been that easy. Especially considering the amount of adventurers that were in the very same room.

Though she was sure the two gods knew exactly who the culprit was. Not that they could do anything to her, given her nomadic nature. Besides, they would get over it eventually.

Or they would plot revenge, like the tricksters they were.

She scratched her chin.

Yeah, that was more likely to happen. Maybe she should be more careful.

She came to a stop at a bridge and leaned against the railing, idly looking around.

Nothing of real interest caught her eye. Just people minding their own business, content of making a living.

Nothing bright. Nothing special. Nothing that could excite her.

There were few things in this world after all that did. If there was anything or anyone that could go beyond her expectations recently, she didn't find it yet.

Something caught her eye at the corners of her vision. Turning her head slightly, she saw what the motions were.

Thugs, limping with seething rage out of a back alley, supporting each other as they muttered bloody vengeance, plotting as much as they could with those little brains of theirs.

Soma.

The girl's mouth thinned.

A great example of what she despised.

Wasted potential. Stagnation. No purpose.

Not that she disliked her fellow god himself, but he was too focused on his work. Too naive of how the world was supposed to work.

But, she could admire his drive. It was something she found beautiful.

A shame, really, that he just was too good for his own well being and surrounded by weak idiots.

Still, the sight of that garbage, faces bloodied and bruised…

She clicked her tongue as she came to one conclusion.

It was unbearably sloppy.

Hah...There went her good mood.

They could have been hurt worse. Dealt with faster.

No efficiency, no aiming at their vitals, no esoteric techniques.

From what she could see, it was a simple, straightforward, ugly brawl. Wide swings against the face, ignoring all other attacks on his own body, before going after the next one with knees against the stomach. Mindless, angry repetition, in order to relief some stress under the guise of justice.

Something she would have never expected from him. Not after everything she saw. Not after all those years she observed him and the others, as they created their place on this world, carving their name in the minds of friends and foes alike.

These thugs wouldn't have lasted two seconds to her child in his prime. How could they? They were only on their first step to divinity.

He had faced mankind's worse nightmares, beings far beyond anything those thugs could ever imagine. A constant war of survival, not a simple daily job to pay for their wine.

Obsidian Noir had been capable of so much more.

Had been.

She grit her teeth at the thought.

Unyielding, swift steel, now only brittle, faded rust.

His place in the sky, going beyond his limits, now barely able to crawl out of the hole he fell down.

How poetic.

The small girl spat to the ground with a snarl.

She hated poems.

Which probably stemmed from her interactions with Apollo, that little bastard.

Facepalming, she regretted not pranking that asshole as well.

Oh well, she could do that tomorrow. Something for his face would be perfect.

A smile wavered and she sighed.

Then she jumped up on the railing and sat down, shoulders hunched as she stared down the river.

Nope, couldn't keep up the flow of happiness. He was weighing on her mind now.

He shouldn't be like that. It was the opposite of what she wanted from him.

Such talent and power was wasted if the mind wasn't up to the task.

The fact that he was hiding his identity all the time was proof enough that something changed inside him ever since that accident.

That he didn't want to see his own reflection anymore.

She would love to do nothing but get him out of this funk already. It's been two years and almost nothing changed, aside from his new student.

But, she made an oath.

Off hands approach. Her children would grow independently. It was more interesting that way and they would show her feats she knew they wouldn't be able to if she coddled them. Limited them.

And she was right. They grew leaps and bounds in more than one way.

She let out a sigh.

Besides, her first impression wasn't the best and considering the breakdown he had after that accident, it would be awkward at best and very painful at worst if she suddenly appeared now of all times.

Still, didn't mean she had to like it.

She covered her face and took a deep breath.

It wasn't like her other children had the same problems. They were as bright as always.

Inventing new magic. Last time she checked it was something about a hole?

Eh, the math went above her head.

Honing their martial skill. This one began to combine it with the special talents discovered and she couldn't wait to see the new heights of her power.

Organizing the home they have created…

She blinked.

Well, that wasn't very special in comparison, but that one still "modernized" and took care of most stuff.

Not all advancements were pretty on first sight. She could look past that and appreciate the beauty.

Anyway, they didn't lose their edge, unlike Obsidian.

She was thankful for that. That way, she could focus entirely on the one who needed help.

As indirect as her help was.

She crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed in thought.

This Pallum had to do the trick.

There was a reason he decided to take in someone, after such a long time.

She was a risk he took, consciously or subconsciously, in order do what those bandages can't do.

To heal from his past. To find his fire again, so that he can be reforged.

The girl blinked and hissed in annoyance.

Alright, that settled it, Apollo's house and family would become targets as well. He infected her with this disease, only fair to be punished for it.

Anyway, she could only hope that Liliruca Arde would be enough. It was a gamble with low odds. Something she didn't like.

A smirk appeared on her face.

Maybe she could push things along a bit. She was still not going to interfere directly, but giving the tools, evening the odds?

Totally something she allowed herself to do.

He will probably train her in self defense now. With those thugs, it was a big enough incentive to do so and after that celebration, the trust should be there.

Therefore, she needed to prepare something as usual for him, once he accomplished it.

Tapping her chin, she crossed her legs and stared into the empty space, bare feet dangling above the ground.

Hm, this was more difficult than usual. She couldn't just do her past approach. It wouldn't help, especially after what she...well, did to him after that event.

So something different had to come from her hands.

Her eyes widened and she smiled when a light appeared inside her head.

Something special should be done. But not for him. He had all the abilities and knew how to use them. His issue was mentally and she couldn't help there.

But his student was all too lacking in the physical department and could use any advantage she could get.

And she already knew what the Pallum could use.

The gift made by her children was ready and sent after all. It would be impossible to think Obsidian wouldn't give it to her the following day.

A master piece of creation.

It needed a skill worthy of it. It was no use for those unskilled, but in the right hands…

She shuddered in excitement.

Oh, the warrior would be a killing machine and look awesome at the same time!

Taking a deep breath, the area around her began to distort a bit, as if reality changed in a miniscule part. It was akin to a transparent blanket over her own body, as it warmed her body and made her feel safe. Detached from the outside world.

Unseen, like always. It was natural, after all. It came with her domain.

Raising her finger, a bright light appeared at its tip and it began to create runes no normal mortal could read.

That skill needed a good name, the girl mused in deep thought.

Moments later, she shrugged.

Might as well keep it simple.

With that development process done, she went to work.

In mere seconds, her hand blurred and the divine text was written.

Now, normally she would be done there.

But, she had to be discreet, for her own and for her child's sake.

Remove some spots here and there, waving her finger playfully like a child with a brush. Not enough to hide that something was amiss, but enough to obscure the truth.

Then, in the same time as it was created, it disappeared.

It didn't vanish however. She could feel it, like a tendril coming out of her body, reaching to the ones it was meant to reach.

Her work now was done. Once the conditions were met, her gift would be unwrapped and be received.

The first time she did that, it felt rather uncomfortable. Now however, it was a pleasant tingle.

With her work done, she stood up again and continued her way through the streets, humming like before like the child she looked like.

Soma wouldn't care anyway, if she gave his child a little upgrade.

It wasn't like anyone could track it down to her. Nobody could, considering her secret talent.

Well, as long as she was careful, the girl admitted sheepishly and giggled.

Both sides won. The Pallum became stronger, Obsidian wouldn't have to worry that much and she could see if the student had the same spark as her own children.

The spark of evolution. Progress. Something new.

A wide grin graced her face.

She couldn't wait to be surprised. To see new wonders.

Pulling a book out her bag, she took out a book.

Now to see what would happen to Harry Potter in this second task.

How would he be able to breathe underwater?

Maybe he would get one of those diver suits she read about. It would be funny to see those stuck up wizards be shown up by "muggle" technology. Or there was some new spell the author would reveal. Something her children could use in the near future.

Giggling, she opened the page and walked on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Getting Good 2.1**

Lili yawned and tried to blink away the remnants of her sleep with minimal success. It wasn't like it was her own fault.

She finally got used to her schedule with Obsidian until the latter decided to throw it out of the window all of a sudden.

Instead of getting some sleep before getting ready for a job...

They stood on the outer walls of Orario, at the break of dawn. Naturally nobody was around, only her stern teacher, crossing his arms at her tired self.

She shuddered and hugged herself. Despite being summer, wearing a sleeveless shirt and short shorts in the morning made her feel how chilly it was.

The girl didn't even know what this was about. He just barged into her room like usual, threw her clothes into the face and told her to meet him on this wall.

Because of that, she was a bit peeved and showed it on her face as she glared at her teacher.

As always, he wasn't fazed at all and nodded to her.

"Alright, kiddo. Time to make sure you can actually protect yourself," he declared loudly and Lili blinked.

Then she let out a groan.

"Why so early?" She shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "And why only now? It's been a month."

In return, the teacher shrugged nonchalantly.

"We have more privacy in the morning and you can enjoy the sunset."

She let out an unamused snort at the second part of his sentence. However, she perked up when he smiled at her, more genuinely this time.

"As for the latter...Evaluation. Had to see if you are worth the investment and my trust." He softly chuckled and petted her head. "I would say you passed with flying colors."

Blushing slightly, she removed his hand and pouted.

Still, her chest filled with pride when he said she passed. That he trusted her.

She did trust him after all.

Well, somewhat.

She wouldn't trust him to care for her sleeping schedule, if today was any indication.

"But first, here," he said all of a sudden, throwing something at her.

Used to having stuff thrown at her, she caught it with her right hand almost as casually as he did and looked at it.

It was a short, black stick, barely longer than her hand. It did have some nice golden lines decorating it, like rings around the stick.

"What's this?" She asked, turning it around and inspecting it.

"Your new weapon. You need something for close range, but also something that helps your reach problem. You need killing power and variety. Hence...this," he explained patiently and gestured at the item.

The girl hummed in thought.

She did plan to buy a cross bow, but if her teacher got her a weapon, she wouldn't reject it.

However, after investigating it thoroughly...

She narrowed her eyes and pointed at it with confusion.  
"Teacher, this is a stick."

Obsidian rolled his eyes in response.

"Obviously, it's only the base form, my student," the man replied dryly and then poked the side of his head a few times. "Will the weapon to be useful. Think of cutting and long range." A pause. "Hold it away though."

She did as he said and extended her arm. Though she stared at it with suspicion.

What was she gonna do, wish for a blade on a stick and it will-

Just as she thought about it, the gold rings glowed.

"What the-"

The next moment, a light extended out of both sides of the stick, startling the girl who almost let go.

Then, moments later, she had a staff in her hand, with a curved, silver blade on the right end.

Lili gaped at it, before snapping her head to Obsidian.

"A naginata. Common weapon in the east. First form," he casually explained with crossed arms, but she could feel amusement radiating from the man.

Anyway, Lili opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, trying to form a proper question.

"It has several forms?!" She managed to shout out loud and looked it over again.

"Yes, didn't you just listen to me?" The man asked in slight annoyance and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Well, yeah but-" A muffled scream of frustration came out of her and she pointed at the weapon in agitation. "That's not important! Where did you get this?! I may not be experienced, but even I can see this is high quality!"

"More like one of a kind," Obsidian corrected her with a snort.

Lili in response shook her head in disbelief.

"This makes it even more suspicious!" She exclaimed loudly, but stopped when the man raised his hand.

"Relax, brat. I have connections. Nobody died from this or something. Asked for it half a month ago, it finally arrived. Trust me."

The girl stared at him after his dismissive explanation. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Now, second form. Think of short range," Obsidian said and pretending to hold something in his hand, before making a cross slash movement with it.

Imagining it in her head, the weapon shined again and this time it shrunk down. The next moment, a dagger was in her hand. Short, compact and slightly curved, similar to the naginata.

"In case something is too close," the man elaborated and he raised three fingers. "Third and final form. Smash."

Again, she concentrated and this time stumbled a bit as the weight became uneven. Looking at the source, she saw a silver block on the other end of the staff.

She blinked.

Then she snapped her head up and pointed at it.

"A warhammer?!"

"Not exactly, but close enough. In case you need it, you can extend the hammer or blade on the other side as well or both sides at once," Obsidian casually replied and then let out an impressed grunt. "I'm surprised you can carry it that easily. It is three weapons at once, even if it has magic on it to make it lighter."

The girl blinked and thought about it for a moment.

She probably did get more muscles on those bones, but she didn't have her rank up yet. This should be heav-

Her eyes widened in realization.

Oh.

Right.

That thing.

She bit her lip and lowered her head.

"It's my skill. Artel Assist. It compensates for weight. Though it doesn't increase my strength. It just makes sure I can carry stuff and not be too hindered by it," she explained in a quiet tone, trying to shake off the memories associated with that skill.

"From your supporter days?" She heard Obsidian ask and she weakly nodded.

"Do...you think I really deserves this?" She whispered when she looked up, the weapon feeling heavier than before.

"Hell no."

She blinked.

Processed the words.

She blinked again.

"Eh?" Lili got out as she stared at her teacher who crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't entrust this to a drunk child, much less you." Lili snorted at his gruff comparison, but paid more attention when he stared at her sternly. "You need to prove to me I can trust you with this. So no going to the dungeon with it. You gotta show me you can actually use that thing."

On the one hand, she gave him a small smile for his honesty and carefulness.

On the other hand, her smile took a more dark tone for a simple reason.

"And how? You just gave me this weapon with no further instructions," she questioned him, letting out a huff as she made the weapon transform back into a stick.

Much to her irritation, the man shrugged.

"No idea about the style it was meant to be used. Not much of a technical guy myself. Never really used weapons. That's more of my friends' thing. So we are going to do it like that."

He cleared his throat and clapped his hands together behind his back.

"I give you four days per week to figure out the movements yourself, preferably before working hours. Then, in the other two free days, I will beat the crap out of you and see if what you cooked up is actually useful or not."

The girl nodded slowly, before smoothly switching over shaking it in the same speed, both motions done in disbelief.

"I...don't think that's how training works," Lili managed to get out and the man let out a snort.

"Well, too bad. This is the first time I do this as well. Learning experience for both of us." He bowed at her in a mocking manner. "Liliruca Arde, I appreciate your sacrifice for the greater good of potential future students of mine."

If she didn't know the man relatively well by now, she would have exploded.

But she knew he wasn't malicious with this, so she shook her head in exasperation and smiled at him.

"You are a crappy teacher, you know that?"

The man waved his hand dismissively.

"Never denied it. Now, chop chop. Start moving with it." He paused, as if he remembered something and pointed at the bag against the wall with a soft expression. "Besides, you have that book, don't you? Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine."

The girl followed his finger and tilted her head.

She almost forgot she took it with her.

Lili did read it when she had free time and she had to say it was rather detailed. From the most basic stuff like how to walk with it to advanced stuff she would find in story books, all the pages were written out with how to move, how to hold a weapon, how to simply breathe with the weapon.

It wouldn't replace a proper teacher, but it was a close thing.

Still, something bothered her.

This was the second time Obsidian referred to the book with interest. And his expression…

Almost like meeting an old friend.

Combining that with the fact she couldn't find the book anywhere else but with Gustav...

"Do you know the one who wrote this book?" She asked with a narrowed eye, trying to act casual. Luckily for her, he laughed quietly and nodded.  
"Yeah." He glanced at her stick. "She helped make that weapon too."

Lili looked at it, impressed.

Huh. What a coincidence.

"Does it have a name?" She asked, looking at her teacher, who to her surprise waved his hand.

"Nope. Your weapon, your responsibility."

She stared at it.

Her weapon.

Something to protect herself with.

To give her power.

To make sure she stayed free.

Free...

"Liberty," she muttered and clenched her hand around it, determination filling her heart.

This was followed by remembering she wasn't alone here and that the name was unbelievably cheesy. A blush appeared on her face and she awkwardly cleared her throat, carefully looking her teacher in the eyes.

Instead of incoming teasing smug however, he instead shrugged without a care.

"Neat."

"No judging?" She asked incredulously and he scratched his head awkwardly.

"Don't have the right." He nodded.

Suddenly, he turned around and raised his hand.

"Alright, have fun."

Lili was about to nod, then did a double take.

"Wait, you're not going to oversee this? You're already here!" She shouted after him and the man stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"Job calls. Besides, I said you would train on your own and I would evaluate later." His teasing tone switched to a more sincere one. "I believe in growing independently."

"Who taught you that?" Lili asked, crossing her arms skeptically. The man let out a sigh, as if he was in his memories and smirked.

"Self taught." A chuckle. "My comrades did the same and they turned out alright."

With that, he left her to her own.

The girl stood there for a while, before moving towards her book and pulled it out.

Though there was one thought that remained throughout her...attempts of training.

This was the first time he actually talked about comrades.

Actually, this was the first time he properly alluded to his past at all.

* * *

 **Getting Good 2.2**

"I-I'm ready!" Lili exclaimed nervously, gripping Liberty in its naginata form hard in her hand.

The four days she had been give were over and quite honestly, she felt like she could have used a bit more time. She barely had an hour before jobs started to train on her own and after her jobs she was too tired to properly move.

The Pallum took a look at her hands and put a bit more distance between them.

That was...correct. Yes, it had to be!

She managed to read through the entire book and mimic all the movements relevant to her weapons in her free time!...Probably.

All attacks were memorized in her head at least and she was half sure she could use them in combat.

Anyway, she stared at her teacher in anticipation, trying to ignore the chilly air of the morning.

However, instead of starting the sparring, the man let out a deep sigh and pinched his nose bridge.

"No, you're not," Obsidian muttered in deep frustration, as if he had a headache.

The girl blinked in response and stood straight, Liberty shrinking back down to its stick form.

"Huh?"

"You kept adjusting your grip and you act like that thing is a foreign object." He crossed his arms and gave her a judging glare. "You didn't take your time to get used to it, did you?"

"I did!" She yelled back, angry at the accusation and stomped on the ground.

"Alright, let me be more specific." The man folded his hands and pointed at her. "Did you actually ingrain the basics into your body, let it become a part of you and focus on the relevant stuff or did you actually read all the details, all the pages in this book and try out everything remotely related to that weapon?"

Mulling over his words for a moment, she bit her lip and shrugged helplessly.

"Uhm...The former?"

The man in response nodded and let out a deep sigh.

"Don't lie to me," the man calmly said and shook his head. "How do you want to attack someone in a fancy way if you don't even know how to do a simple swing instinctively?"

The girl blushed and looked away.

Maybe she was too excited at learning how to fight.

"I only had four days..." She muttered with a pout.

"It needs to come like a snap from your body. No time to think. No second guessing." Obsidian sighed again and at least looked guilty as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess it's my own fault for not teaching you the basics at least. So, let's fix that then."

Lili nodded and stood in attention, staring at him in a serious manner.

She did feel some anger for his rude words, but at least he was willing to rectify the problem.

They stared at each other, only hearing crows in the sky.  
After a while, the girl sweatdropped.

Was he going to say anything or…?

The man awkwardly cleared his throat, as if he only now knew what to do and moved towards the railing. Then, he gestured towards the free way.

"Show me how you move with it. Run, jump, spin, all that."

The Pallum took a deep breath and willed Liberty in its knife form.

Then she did what she was told to.

By all means, it wasn't very hard. She just moved like she always did. Short steps and jumps, while keeping the weapon in hand.

There were more difficulties with her other two forms.

Not that the weight was a big problem, but the length of both gave her some issues. She couldn't move freely without hitting the wall with the other end of the stick. Sometimes it dragged over the ground and slowed her down substantially.

But after a while, she managed to get the hang out of it. Lili got a feel for the reach of both weapons and how to comfortably move with it, while also being able to keep the same speed as with the knife.

Sliding, spinning, rolling, all those began to be no problem for her after what felt like an hour of a workout. During all that, she figured out how to hold the two forms without hindering herself. When running, her hand was close to the blade or hammer head, while making sure that the rest of the staff was shortened.

It took her a while to think of that.

Once she did, her teacher told her to stop and clapped his hands with a smile.

"See? Much better. Now try attacking. Simple. Knife first." As she transformed it back, he crossed his hands behind his back, nodding at her. "I recommend reverse grip."

"Why?" Lili asked, while turning the knife around, with the blade pointing away from her.  
"It's for super close combat. It's easier to learn for some, can be used for grappling or defensive maneuvers and gives a lot of angles to work with."

As a demonstration, he took out a short stick and began to make small swings with it, showing her how he worked his wrist to attack from different angles. From below, above, side, he showed her different stabs and swings, one different than the one before.

Lili could see how it could be useful, as well as the defensive abilities, since the blade could be used as a lever or to protect one's own wrist. She remembered it faintly from her book, so she nodded and attempted to mimic his attacks.

Fast and with force, she swung her arm to the left. Then, back with a backwards stab.

As she was about to do her third attack, her teacher's voice stopped her.

"Hm. Too big swings with the blade. It needs to be more compact. Less energy wasted and leaves fewer openings for your enemies."

As demonstration, he made the same knife movements, but kept them closer to the body and without the wide reeling she did.

"Anyway, you need to transition smoothly. Focus on that and do it slowly. One attack sets up the next attack. A good fighter always throws more than one attack in a sequence. Always assume the attack wasn't enough and be ready for more. Don't forget to breathe too."

"Got it..." Lili muttered, eyes narrowed in focus as she listened to her teacher's instructions.

Slow motions, she paid attention to how it moved. After a while, she moved faster and faster, until she assumed was combat speed, executing the basics from the book, with her teacher occasionally correcting her stance.

Attacking an imaginary opponent that was most definitely not someone from the Soma family.

Totally not.

She lost track of time, before Obsidian snapped his fingers. She stood in attention, breath a bit heavy.

"Good, good. Now, we won't get started on the rest, but I might as well give some pointers."

He began to pace around, folding his hands in front of himself.

"The advantage of a naginata is its reach. If you swing too much, it negates that advantage. Short stabs. Remember, it's still a spear." He raised his right finger. "But you need to remember too that the blade is there. So something like stab, spin, stab would be perfect. More room to breathe than with a knife, since you have the reach. But remember. Transition. As few holes as possible."

Lili nodded, repeating his words in muttering as she tried to burn the advice in her head. The book did focus on such things, but it was helpful to have someone calmly explain it to her. Made it more personal, more likely to stick in her head.

"For the hammer, you need big swings. Strong steps. By all means, it's a slow weapon meant for slow opponents. Every swing, unlike the knife or the naginata, is meant to finish the battle or at least be crippling." Obsidian came to a stop and turned to her. "Still needs-"

"Transition, got it," Lili interrupted him with a grin, who grinned back at her.

"Good." Then he took a deep breath and pointed at his own arms. "Gotta train your strength if you wanna use the hammer properly. If you spin around uselessly, you are dead. Your skill may make you be able to carry it, but without proper power, it doesn't help a lot."

"Any tips besides that? Stat raising isn't that simple," Lili asked, crossing her arms after Liberty returned back to its stick mode.

To her disappointment, the man shrugged.

"Not really. Work out more, use the momentum properly, whatever works."

The girl sighed, and her shoulders were more hunched.

A Pallum like her could only hope to make the power type stick somehow.

Though something came to her mind…

"Do you think I can shift between attacks?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and the man stared at her.

"Only once he got a good understand of each weapon," he replied in an even tone after a moment of silence. "Liberty is one of its kind as far as I know, so I can't teach you how to use three weapons simultaneously in a good way."  
"Self study then?" Lili asked with a sigh.

"Yup," the man said, letting out a pop, before letting his arms hang loosely next to him. "Now let's start the sparring."

"No fighting position?" The girl asked with with hesitation.

"I won't need it," he growled with a smirk and Lili felt this was going to be hell.

And she was right.

The girl wanted to believe that despite not being in the dungeon, she improved physically. She didn't expect to win, but she did expect to land one or two hits.

Sadly, Lili totally forgot about his speed.

Almost casually, he dodged all of her attacks, not even bothering to block or putting up a guard. He danced around her as she put her all into hitting him, going through all three weapons when he told her to switch.

That wasn't even the worst, because he followed up on his promise when he gave her Liberty.

He quietly beat her ass.

Every sidestep he did was followed by a punch. Every blow she missed, a kick followed.

She couldn't imagine it could get worse.

Of course then it had to get worse.

The man started to have too much fun with this.

Because he began to get very weird and started to play around.

Punches…

"Uppercut!" He shouted with a grin as he punched her against the chin, leaving her dazed on the ground.

Kicks…

"DROP KICK!" Air left her lungs as he did exactly that.

Then there was the weird stuff…

"How long are these bandages?!" Lili yelled, trying to get her leg free from the makeshift rope Obsidian used to trap her with.

"Long enough."

Then he pulled and she landed right on her back after what felt like a thousandth time.

Even when she managed to dodge…

"Haha!"

The girl raised her hands in the air, happy to have dodged a punch by swaying to the left.

Then however, the man grabbed her on the shoulders and promptly headbutted her.

"Haha," Obsidian replied cheekily and she groaned in pain as she held her head.

Suffice to say, by the end of it, she was lying flat on her face, unmoving, too tired to even recognize the pain she was in.

Her bruises had bruises and it took all her remaining strength to turn around in order to take in deep breathes.

At least nothing was broken, as far as she knew.

Except of the pride she managed to build up for the last month.

"You okay?" She heard Obsidian ask, not even remotely out of breath.

Slowly, she managed to turn her head and face him with a glare.

"Relatively, you asshole..."

"Oh. Good," he replied nonchalantly and then pulled her up so that she could sit against the wall.

The very movements hurt her and she hissed at his touch.

Following that, he pulled something out of his coat and she saw a red vial in front of her.

"Here. Healing potion," he offered and she didn't think twice to take it and down it.

Immediately, the pain began to vanish and she moaned by the lack of it, relaxing her head on the stone behind her with closed eyes.

After enjoying the wind and silence, she opened her eyes and wiggled the vial at him.

"Aren't those expensive?"

"My expenses aren't very high," Obsidian responded and Lili let out a "hm".

He wasn't an adventurer after all, so he could save up money rather easily.

It was the same for her, after all.

Anyway, the man crossed his arms behind his back and began to lecture her.

"I noticed you tend to stay in one place, focusing too much on executing your attacks properly. But most fighters need to keep moving while attacking. As said before, it needs to come like a snap. Never stop moving."

He glanced at Liberty in its normal form.

"So far, your knife is currently your best weapon, with naginata and hammer following. Keep up the work and we will make something out of you."

The girl sighed at his last words and stared at the ground.

"Will I ever hit you?" She muttered and looked up when her teacher let out a snort.

"Eventually. Maybe. Who knows? You won't know if you stop trying," he replied with a grin and Lili clicked her tongue.

"You're just baiting me," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Am I succeeding?" He asked knowingly and she rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"Maybe."

* * *

 **Getting Good 2.3**

She was ready to get her ass beaten again once that time of the week arrived.

Because of that, she was surprised that instead of being woken up to get hauled up to the walls, she got woken up to go…

Shopping.

The reasons he gave were that they were running out of supplies, but also because he wanted to beat her up when it was noon.

He didn't phrase the latter like that, but she could read the subtext.

Anyway, here she was, a bit peeved at _another_ change in her schedule, walking next to her mummy of a teacher.

She was surprised her sleep circle wasn't totally screwed over.

Apparently it showed on her face, because Obsidian glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong with your shopping dress?"

Lili rolled her eyes in response.

"Okay, first of all, I don't know why you are even calling it that." She frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Second of all, why don't you have your own?"

"I have shopping bandages," he replied dryly before taking a turn, the girl right behind him. Lili snorted in response and leaned forward, hands crossed behind her back.

"Teacher, you aren't as funny as you think you are," she said with a smile and the man gasped dramatically.

"What, that book about funny teacher jokes is wrong? What a waste."

The two of them giggled after a small pause. By now, Lili wasn't even bothered by how raspy it sounded anymore.

It was just another part of her new life.

Anyway, they arrived at New Age, just as it finished serving the last customer. But instead of Gustav, it was another person manning the shop.

A blond human, probably in her teens, smiled at them and waved her arm, her ponytail moving with her exaggerated motions. She wore the same kind of clothing as Gustav, so Lili assumed this was his daughter she heard about.

"Lord Noir! What a pleasure to meet you!" She greeted them in an excited tone when they reached the shop and folded her hands in front of herself.

Obsidian nodded in response.

"Lisa. Gustav not in?"

"Oh, he said he was out shopping," Lisa said, waving her hand playfully, before putting crossing her arms behind her back. "How can I help you at New Age?"

"The usual stuff," Obsidian grunted out and the vendor snapped her fingers playfully, before bending down and picking up a box filled with several different supplies, food and drinks.

"Here you go! Take your time!"

As her teacher focused on picking their food, Lili tapped her foot on the ground with crossed arms, waiting patiently for him to finish.

Glancing around, she then noticed Lisa staring at her with a deep frown.

The Pallum blinked at her, before looking around.

Nope, stared right at her.

"Can I...help you?" Lili asked with hesitation and raising an eyebrow. In response, the vendor leaned forward and held her hand up to cover her own mouth.

"Have you ever been in the dungeon before?" She whispered, glancing at Obsidian, who ignored her antics.

Lili leaned away a bit with a weirded out expression.

"Uhm...Yeah?" She replied in an unsure tone and Lisa gasped in excitement before clapping her hands together and giving her a wide grin.

"Is it true that the monsters just grow from the walls?" The shop daughter asked in a giddy tone and the Pallum slowly nodded her head.

"Yes? I mean, is it that weird?" Lili asked, confused where the blonde was going with this.

Maybe it was because her opinion was a bit skewed, but the dungeon was nothing special to her.

Any child like awe was quickly squeezed out of her.

Was this how the dungeon looked like from the outside?

"Of course it is! And super awesome!" Lisa exclaimed, but then slouched her shoulders with a disappointed sigh. "Hah, what I would give to go in there, even if it's just carrying bags..."

"Can't you?"

In response, the blonde shook her head and let out a small whine.

"No permission from pops and mom." She shrugged and stood straight again, hands on the counter. "I mean, I don't have a blessing, so there is that, but how hard can it be to just carry stuff around?"

Lili's eyebrow twitched.

"Very, actually," she replied with a strained smile, curling her hands into fists.

Her anger left her however when Lisa tilted her head, before her eyes widened and she bowed to the Pallum.

"Oh! I'm really sorry if I offended you!" The blonde giggled awkwardly and scratched her cheek. "I just...got a bit too excited, didn't I?"

Lili took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

If she lost control she wouldn't be any different from the thugs in her family.

Besides, it was just ignorance, not actual malicious intent.

Lisa did not offend her.

One, two, three, just like Obsidian taught her.

"It's...okay..." The student said in an even tone, before crossing her arms skeptically. "Why do you want to go into the dungeon anyway?"

"Because it sounds amazing! Monsters everywhere, seeing people kick ass..." The vendor cleared her throat awkwardly after realizing she was getting lost in her imagination and blushed. "I never got to see it. Not really. Never been to the front lines."

"Even if you could die?" Lili asked in a quiet tone and Lisa nodded with a soft smile.

"Even then. There is a reason I left home with my parents. Freedom, excitement...life is too short not to take risks."

For a while, the Pallum stared at the older girl with wide eyes.

Life was too short.

Freedom.

These words repeated themselves in her head and she didn't know why.

Something was burning in her chest.

Before she could find out what exactly it was, her teacher's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Well, let's hope you don't die because I do not want to be that kind of guy who needs to deliver letters of condolences to families," the man said in a dry tone as he gave Lili one of the big bags into her arms.

"Of course, Lord Noir! I will make sure I am prepared sufficiently before even going to the first floor!" Lisa saluted with a wide grin and Obsidian petted her head with his free arm.  
"Atta girl." He turned around as she blushed a bit and waved her goodbye. "Well, pleasure doing business with you. Have a good day."

"Come again!" She exclaimed and waved back. Lili couldn't help but giggle as she waved back.

Turning around, she quickly jogged next to her teacher and shook her head.

"She seemed...nice."

"Sunny girl in sunny weather," the teacher said with a snort. Then he noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

The girl narrowed her eyes and hummed in thought.

"Where do you come from anyway?"

Despite spending so much time with him, she did not know. Sure, something slipped here in there, most of the time from Gustav and Lisa this time, but it was not enough to paint a clear picture.

To her relief, Obsidian didn't deflect the question with snark or teasing.

He had a distant look in his eyes as if he stared into his memories themselves.

"Far away. Beyond the ocean, basically the other end of the world." He shrugged and glanced at her with a smile. "We call it Boundary. Fits, hm?"

"I never heard of that place," the girl said with a frown, going through her memory.

Melen, Rakia, Telskyura…

Nope, the name didn't ring a bell.

"Again, other end of the world," the man repeated himself, as if that would explain it. He shuddered then and blinked furiously, before shaking his head. "It's a hell hole, as far as I'm concerned."

"That bad?" Lili asked in a skeptical tone and the man gave her a dry look.

"Yes, that bad." He let out a sigh. "I tell you another time. Maybe after training."

"You mean when I can barely listen to anything you're saying?" The girl asked with a flat expression and was met with an equally flat expression.

"I give you potions. Your argument is invalid."

For a moment they stood still, before chuckling at each other.

With that done, they began to walk again and turned around a corner.

In that moment, her teacher stumbled against someone, though he did manage to keep a good grip on their supplies.

"Oh, excuse m-"

"Apolo-"

Obsidian and a clear female voice were about to apologize to each other, when it came to an abrupt stop.

Lili blinked in confusion and leaned to the left to see who the other person could be.

She gaped when she recognized the woman who stared at her teacher with wide eyes.

Jade colored hair in a ponytail, pointy ears that guided her hair backwards, an attire only the richest of rich could afford probably and an appearance that could be called otherwordly...

It...it was...

"Huh," the man let out and took a step back, before raising his right hand in a simple manner. "Hey, Riveria."

Indeed, they walked into a top class adventurer and royal blood, all in one package.

And Obsidian treated this like meeting an acquaintance and did not use any honorifics of any sorts.

Sometimes Lili didn't know if he was just that confident, if he didn't care or if he was ignorant.

The third was immediately discarded as she shook her head.

No way he would be that stupid not to recognize her rank.

One of the former then. Probably both.

Anyway, the woman in question adjusted her hair a bit, gathering herself and crossed her arms as she looked at the bandaged man with a neutral expression.

"Lacking manners as always, Noir," she said in a polite tone, despite the fact that her words were not polite at all.

What shocked Lili more however was the same familiarity in her voice as Obsidian's.

She turned her head to her and back to her teacher in rapid succession, before pointing at the two.

"You...know each other?" She asked in an uncertain tone and shrunk a bit when the two adults turned to her at the same time.

"Yup," Obsidian broke the silence casually and glanced at the elf. "Met her a couple of times in some book shops. We share some tastes."

"And that is the only good quality about him," the elf countered in a cold tone, checking his clothes with one open eye, before giving him a condescending smile. "Which is heavily off set by his other tastes."

"I don't know what's so bad about eating chicken," Obsidian drawled and raised an eyebrow. "Because you must be talking about that, because your fashion sense is exactly like mine."

By now, Lili didn't even attempt to hide her shock and openly gaped at the two hurling sass at each other like there was no tomorrow.

The high elf bristled at the insult, but quickly regained her composure and huffed.

"You must get those devious eyes of your checked, because our clothes differ like day and night."

The man raised an eyebrow and pointed at her.

"You sure?" He asked in a skeptical tone. Then the man pointed at himself. "Both are meant to make us cooler than we actually are."

The elf opened her mouth, but then closed it, blinking a few times. Then her eyes narrowed and she glared at the man, as if to figure out how to follow up on that. Said man blinked back in incomprehension.

Lili meanwhile let out an intrigued grunt.

Huh, so he did that with everyone.

Occasionally insulting himself in the middle of a conversation.

It happened enough times that she could see a trend.

Either way, now was the perfect time to force herself into the conversation, if only because her arms were getting tired from holding that bag.

"Uhm...My name is...Liliruca Arde...It is an honor to meet you," she managed to get out nervously, bowing slightly. Again, the two adults turned to her, but this time Lili focused on her teacher and gave him a pointed look, before shooting a glance at Riveria.

Obsidian was not as subtle as her and fully turned his head to the elf, before turning back to his student and blinked.

Then he tilted his head.

"What?"

The Pallum slapped her forehead with her free left hand, before looking up again.

As she did so, she saw the mage smirk slightly, like a shark that smelled blood in the water.

The woman averted her gaze from the man and looked directly at Lili with a more polite smile.

"Since Noir doesn't know any courtesy, I shall do it." She bowed her head a bit before raising it again. "I am Riveria Ljos Alf from the Loki Family. A pleasure."

"Courtesy?" Obsidian cut in before Lili could respond and frowned at the adventurer. "Courtesy is to introduce oneself, not let someone else do the job."

Riveria only glanced at him with one half open eye before closing them shut with a sigh.

"I wanted to give yourself a chance to appear more noble than you are. I see that you are not very grateful for it," she replied airily and opened her left eye and gave Lili a glance.

The latter frowned a bit in confusion.

Was she sending some sort of message?

She seemed...amused for some reason.

Was it because Lili helped her to get back into the game?

If that was the case, the elf would be due for a rude awakening.

For Obsidian Noir did not really care how he appeared to his student.

"You assume I want to be a noble." The bandaged man waved his hand dismissively. "Why do you think I'm here? Hint. Not that."

Riveria's eye twitched slightly and Lili narrowed her eyes.

There it was again.

A hint of amusement.

Surely the light had to be playing tricks with Lili's eyes.

Whatever it was, she did not want to be playing the part of the mute again and scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Uhm...what brings you around these parts, ma'am?"

The woman crossed her arms behind her back and gracefully looked at her.

Lili needed a moment not to be struck in awe by the sheer presence this woman could have.

"I am just purchasing a few goods in preparation for another venture into the dungeon." Riveria tilted her head by the barest minimum. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"Oh, just...buying some supplies for home. Then we are going to...train?" Lili said in an uncertain tone and looked at Obsidian.

The man nodded slightly and Riveria glanced at him yet again.

"I see that the rumors of you taking in a student are true. How unexpected."

"Here I thought you were above gossip," the man replied back with a snort.

"Please, it is not my fault your treacherous reputation made sure that it would reach every corner," Riveria said in a tone as if addressing a child and put a hand on her cheek with closed eyes and sighed. "Dear me, I should ask for compensation that I had to hear more about you than necessary. It ruined my day when I was forced to think about you."

"Watch it there, people might get the wrong idea with that phrasing. Think about me?" Obsidian asked in a skeptical tone.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," the woman exclaimed in disgust and brushed some hair behind her right ear. "Obviously it was like experiencing a nightmare. I did not have any control and it was not pleasant at all. Truly, some people are just simple minded."

"Yes, certain other people sure are inflexible. Isn't that right, Liliruca?"

The Pallum sent her teacher a betrayed look at his casual attempt to pull her back in. Because of that, she raised her hand and shook her head.

"Please keep me out of this," she said with insistence and ignored Obsidian's narrowed eyes.

"I am glad that this man didn't corrupt you yet with his personality," Riveria said, her mouth angles slightly curved to show her satisfaction.

"Give it time, I am a slow acting disease."

The words that were uttered like a fact, froze the elf solid, smile still in place.

The two females turned to the man who blinked at them innocently.

The noble tried to form words, moving her mouth a few times, but none managed to come out.

Lili on the other hand narrowed her eyes at her teacher.

On the one hand, Lili was a bit worried about that word choice.

She did not want to be someone covering herself in bandages.

On the other hand, his words confirmed one consistency she noticed about the man.

Sometimes he had a very self depreciating humor.

It appeared to be rather effective in those verbal battles with the adventurer, considering she averted her eyes and blushed slightly at her obvious showing of incomprehension.

"A-ah..." She cleared her throat and moved her hair again, before turning to the man fully with closed eyes and the left hand on the hip. "W-ell, at least you have good self awareness."

"Well, of course I do, else I wouldn't wear those bandages," Obsidian replied, looking at the elf as if she said the sky was blue.

As Riveria clamped her mouth shut and some weird noise came out of her throat, almost like a sound of frustration.

The Pallum slowly nodded, her eyes not being able to move away from that spectacle.

Lili did not expect to see a high elf so...out of her element. Nor the fact that her teacher would be the one to cause it.

"I believe I should take my leave now," the high elf abruptly said after a series of arm twitches and facial expressions that ranged from being lost to irritation.

With that she walked past them, leaving the two of them stare after her back.

"Man, I never understand elves..." Obsidian muttered, shaking his head in a tired manner.

On the other hand, Lili nodded with wide eyes and turned to her teacher.

"Wow," she simply said.

"What?"

"Nothing," Lili quickly added, leaving her teacher even more confused, before the man simply shrugged. The girl then stared to the ground.

To just talk like that with an adventurer…

It was a far cry to her usual interactions. Not to mention the...well, respect was a big word, but politeness she was treated by a person who could crush her with her pinkie was...mind boggling.

It made her respect Obsidian even more.

Being able to make a high class adventurer like that retreat, talk on even terms...

He truly was teacher material.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and was about to follow her teacher…

Who walked ahead of her while she was lost in her thoughts.

"You coming? You need your regular beating," Obsidian had to _yell_ at her for everyone to hear and stares were directed right at them.

Quickly, she ran next to him and hit him against the arm, ignoring how hard it felt.

"Teacher, we are in public!" Lili hissed as she already heard the muttering getting started, trying to hide her red face. Of course, the man wearing only black and full body bandages did not care about social etiquette and shrugged dismissively.

"So what?"

* * *

 **Getting Good 2.4**

"Meep meep."

The flat words made Lili freeze in mid swing with her knife.

"What?" She asked, but before she could do anything more, her feet were taken from underneath her. The next thing she knew was that the Pallum was lying on her side after smashing on the ground.

There was probably a spin or two in between, but Lili's head spun way too much to properly remember.

As she slowly opened her eyes, the bandaged visage of her teacher stared at him, filled with smug as he was sitting in a squat next to her.

"What do we say to obvious distractions and leg sweeps?" The man asked in an amused tone as he had his right hand on his cheek.

"Screw you..." Lili managed to grunt out and turned her face to the ground to let out a muffled groan.

Another groan escaped her when Obsidian poked her against her side.

"Wrong. It's called ignore and dodge. You are ten years too early to screw me," the man said in a lecturing tone.

Immediately, awkward silence fell between them when Lili turned her head in disbelief and stared at his face, as his forehead wrinkled in thought.

Following that, the man nodded slowly as he bit his lip.

"Okay, I just noticed how wrong that sounded," he admitted and scratched his cheek a bit.

The Pallum on the other hand just raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" She asked sarcastically and was about to plant her face back on the cold, stone.

However, she got pulled up by her collar and was forced to stand up on her own wobbly legs.

Her irritation got quickly replaced when he wiggled a familiar bottle in front of her.

"Drink up and try to not fall over like a new born."

The girl didn't wait twice to take the drink and downing it, feeling the pain drain out of her body.

"Where...did you even learn how to fight like that anyway?" The girl asked, wiping her mouth from the remnants of the potion and shaking her head as her head cleared.

"I did tell you Boundary is a hell hole," Obsidian replied dryly as he took the vial back and shrugged nonchalantly. "Learn fast or die fast."

Lili nodded and transformed Liberty into the naginata form.

But as she stood in front of her teacher, weapon held above her head, she couldn't help but let her thoughts stray.

Seriously, what the hell was Boundary?

It sounded like a second entrance to the dungeon, from the way he described it so far.

It had to be one of those places monsters went before the gods descended. It would explain the strength of Obsidian.

Suddenly, the man in question straightened his back, replacing his casual stance by crossing his arms.

"Let's stop," he grunted out and Lili tilted her head, still in fighting position.

"Why?"

The man gestured at her and shook his head with a sigh.

"I can literally see the questions burning in your face. Come on, get it out."

The girl blinked and Liberty returned to its stick form.

"Alright," she said dumbly and scratched her head.

Well, he did say he might tell her after training, but she didn't expect him to follow through with it.

It threw her off a little bit.

After all, she had many questions.

But since he mentioned it twice already in a day, who was she not to ask the obvious one first?

"Boundary," she simply asked and giving him a pointed look.

The man shrugged in response.

"Hell hole. But you probably want specifics," he quickly added with a smirk as her eyes narrowed and sat down against the wall, folding his hands. "Up until a decade ago, there was no proper civilization. People lived nomadic and in small groups. Attracted less danger." He let out a snort. "Not to mention it's always so damn cold."

Lili sat down next to her teacher, trying to picture the image.

Snow covered fields, dense forests and high hills. And in between trees, a flattened area with tents and people with thick fur coats, huddling together at a fire. It was a tough time, but they had each other, as they worked hard to survive.

Then she opened her eyes just as shadows crept up the families.

"Danger as in monsters," she said in a somber tone, shuddering at where her mind went.

The man nodded at her in approval.

"Yup." He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Unlike the dungeon, levels varied. If you were lucky, there were goblins. If you were unlucky, have fun with that Goliath and his orc army, who also happen to have butterfly wings. All over the continent, fun times."

Lili blinked at her teacher.

That was...awfully specific.

Still, the idea of an entire continent be terrorized by monsters boggled her mind.

The occasional attack maybe, yes, but...

"You are not serious," the girl said in disbelief and shook her head. "I mean...no gods?"

"Not before that time period," Obsidian replied in a bitter tone and leaned his head back on the wall, arms hanging loosely on his knees. "Either they didn't notice that place, since it was at the edge of the world or because they noticed, they stayed away. Find a place easier to have fun with. Who knows?"

The girl hugged her knees and bit her lip.

Gods did only came down to live like a mortal. To have fun.

Constant stress was the very thing they wanted to escape.

Lucky them, Lili thought in irritation.

Anyway, Obsidian readjusted his position, stretching his legs and folding his hands in between them as he stared at the sky.

"No matter how many you would kill, eventually new monsters would migrate to places that barely managed to achieve to build a town," the man told her, as he had a distant look in his eyes.

"But then..." The Pallum asked and her teacher nodded slightly.

"Then a god finally got off her ass and blessed four people. At first, they were about as much prey as anyone else. But the danger made them grow. Constant strife improved them." A chuckle escaped him and she could see a soft smile on his face. "Eventually...they began to lead the people of Boundary. Unite them. Protect them. Cities were slowly build as the monsters were pushed back. It is by all means not paradise, but it got a hell of a lot better."

Lili couldn't help but smile as well, as the story unfolded in her head.

It was like something out of a picture book.

In an age of darkness like in the myths, four chosen ones rose and fought back the darkness, bringing in a new era of peace and progress.

By all means, if it didn't come from him, she wouldn't have believed that story to be true.

It was pretty obvious who one of the four were. But if Obsidian didn't want to say it, he probably had a good reason to hi-

"One of those people was me," Obsidian casually said, scratching his stomach for a moment.

Lili slowly turned her head and stared at him with disbelief.

Or he just flat out tells her, ruining the mood as usual.

Her teacher noticed her staring and raised his eyebrow at her.

"What? I'm pretty sure it was obvious by now," he said in an incredulous tone and Lili rolled her eyes.

"You never told me," the girl said in an accusing tone.

The man shrugged.

"You never asked and again, obvious. As much of a brat you are, you are blessed yourself. It wouldn't be that easy for me to kick you around as a normal human."

"So you're human," Lili said, crossing her arms.

There was one mystery ticked off her list.

"Yes. I am," he said slightly irritated and then pointed at himself. "What did you think I was?"

"Some weird humanoid monster whose skin is made of bandages," she replied in a flat tone and received an equally flat glare in response.

"Hardy ha." With that, he crossed his arms behind his head and breathed out slowly. "Anyway, that's the short version of the history of Boundary and of my Blessing. Which is different or else I would have died a long time ago..."

The girl nodded and leaned back on the wall as well.

It sounded rather interesting. It wasn't a lot, but at least she knew more about hi-

Lili cut off that line of thought and recalled the last part of his sentence. Processed it and slowly turned her head at him with wide eyes.

Wait a damn minute.

"Different? How?" She asked with suspicion.

She expected him to brush her off or something.

Instead, Obsidian Noir froze, his eyes widening in shock.

That was a sight she didn't expect to ever see.

For a while, he just stared into the empty space in front of him.

Then he clicked his tongue and rubbed his face with both hands.

"I did not want to say that...Oh well..." He muttered, putting his hands away and glancing at her. "Keep it a secret."

He trusted her, even though she could see how unsure he was about this.

Lili gulped and nodded with hesitation.

It only made her feel more uncomfortable about this.

Obsidian took a deep breath and played around with his hands, searching for the right words.

"How to explain it..." He said slowly, before snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "It's more...free and more constant. One doesn't get so gigantic power jumps per level. So it's more of a stream than a wave."

At first, the Pallum nodded her head with a neutral expression.

Then she shook her head with the same face.

"Can you explain that a bit more?" She asked and the man groaned as he scratched his head.

Then, he clapped his hands together.

"It's...constant, I guess. It means that it will take a lot of effort to make progress like other adventurers do when they rank up. Rank up, they are in all accords far beyond their former level."

He pointed at himself.

"With mine, it doesn't work that way. We don't get to do heroics and expect super big improvements. I mean, they exist, but it's not that extreme. Therefore, constant. However, it also means we don't hit as many walls as others. We gradually grow, as long as we work hard."

Obsidian took a deep breath and stood up, starting to pace around as he tapped his chin.

"It's also...free...Well, you know...As long as there is will, there is a way?" He asked her as he gestured to her.

"Yeah?" She replied with a raised eyebrow, more like a question than an answer. The man clapped his hands and sat against the railing.

"It's literal here. Well, that and knowledge." He twirled his right hand. "We can create Skills and Magic. Work up resistances, give certain martial arts more weight. Not that it is easy, but it is easier to do than with your system. Though the creation process relies entirely on the user."

The girl couldn't help but gape at his words.

Lili wasn't that well versed in how the Falna worked.

But she was certain that one couldn't just...create such things. There was a reason why so few adventurers had magic. It was a rare thing, either you had magic or you didn't. Sometimes one could use a Grimoire, but they didn't grow on trees either.

From what she could understand, Obsidian's blessing gave him unlimited options.

It was farfetched.

But then again, gods descending from heaven, a dungeon with infinite monsters and what not were farfetched as well in the past.

Actually, doing something else with how the Falna worked was something Lili could imagine a god would be able to do.

There weren't any rules against that...right?

"Sounds rather strong," the Pallum said impressed, but leaned away a bit when the man abruptly turned to her with a face of disbelief.

"Are you kidding? This system is really selective and by all means not perfect." He tapped the wall with his hands a few times and sighed. "I said it depends on what the blessed does with the power. That means if they screw up, it's their own fault. They are responsible in how they grow. Everything they do, they need to come up with themselves."

The girl stared at him with incomprehension. It sounded rather abstract and she didn't really get where he was going with this.

Then the girl analyzed the way he phrased his words and the conclusion made her snap her head towards him in shock.

"Wait, you can update your own status?"

"Yup," Obsidian replied and nodded. "Anyway, there is a limit to the points, so to say. At a certain point, they are getting sparse. If you don't have a clear picture of what you want to do in the future, and have a working system of improving yourself, you might end up as a muscle head who gets beaten because his endurance wasn't even close to that strength."

The man cleared his throat and searched through his pockets. Then he pulled out a bottle with a long straw. He inserted it inside the bottle and took a strong sip out of it after shoving it in between the bandages.

With the dry throat gone, he pocketed it again and clapped his hands.

"And for the skills and magic…Well, it's difficult. You need to start from scratch and that scratch needs refinement until it's as effective as other spells. Sure, some day they reach the same level, but until then? Another risk to your life."

Lili processed the information through her head and winced.

Anyone who had no idea what to do would be rather weak. Or at least no different from a blessed on like herself.

"So how was that better than the usual...system?" She asked and the man lazily smiled at her as he turned around, looking away from the city.

"We could update ourselves in the middle of battle. Create skills for our needs in preparation for the next fight. The gradual growth meant we could improve in non lethal situations as well as long as we tried hard enough. The threat of constant death can help you a lot to get creative and work hard. Who knew what we would face next? Fear is a strong motivator."

Lili readjusted her position and stood up, back against the wall, looking into the opposite direction as her teacher.

She hummed in thought.

That made sense. If he was in constant conflict, adaptability was important and a deity could not accompany them into dangerous territory.

The girl's forehead wrinkled in thought.

Wait…

He could update himself.  
So what role did his goddess have?

"Your goddess sounds...weird. I mean...What did she do, if not update your status?"

"Nothing."

The empty chuckle that followed made the girl freeze in her body, followed by rage filling her.

A god doing nothing?

Where did she hear that before?

"What?" She hissed through clenched teeth and the man shook his head, as if it was something normal for him.

"She did nothing. Except 'rewarding' us sometimes here and there and sending us messages, she almost never interacts with us. Never helped us directly, never even gave us advice." Clicking his tongue, he turned around and got off the railing, before sitting back on the wall ground. "I don't even know where she is. She was different from other gods from the start, as far as I know."

While Lili seethed with anger at the similarities with her own god, the last part of his sentence confused her. So she swallowed her rage down and took a deep breath.

"In what way?" She asked in a quiet tone and the man slightly raised his head to look at her.

"She said she was on the world before any of the other gods. Considering her name and her anti social attitude, I guess it makes sense," Obsidian chuckled dryly and pulled his knees close to his chest.

"What is her name?" Lili questioned quietly. Maybe she heard of the god before.

But to her surprise, the man shook her head and gave her a soft smile.

"Can't say. I swore I wouldn't tell."

"But...you don't seem to like her," Lili said with a frown and her teacher sighed.

"It's complicated. She could have done a better job overall. Nevertheless, she gave me this power and I am grateful for it." A dry laugh escaped him and he stared at the sky. "As much as it hurt me or others."

For a while, they remained in silence like this, the sun setting already.

She glanced at the scarlet horizon, feeling...at ease.

Maybe it was because they connected a bit more. She could understand him better now.

A hardworking man who helped to protect the weak. Just like with her.

"I guess I can understand why Mr. Gustav and Lisa seem to respect you, if they come from Boundary," the Pallum said, turning to her teacher with a gentle expression.

In response however, Obsidian waved his hand with a dismissive snort.

"Their respect is completely unfounded though. I was just a guy who killed stuff and I don't even do that anymore. Really, I don't see how they respect someone like me. The other three were more important."

He laughed lightly, as if it was funny.

But Lili did not share the same amusement.

The opposite actually.

She frowned at him with disapproval.

"Why do you keep doing it?" She asked in a stern tone and the bandaged man looked at her, tilting his head.

"Do what?"

"Talk yourself down. I mean, sometimes you are confident, like when we spar, but then there is always this...thing that makes you drag yourself through the dirt. Why?" The girl inquired, a small hint of begging in her voice as she needed to know.

Obsidian stared at her for a while, in incomprehension. Then he looked to the ground, blinked and let out a small grunt, as if he only noticed now-  
"Guess it's my low self esteem at work again..." He muttered and Lili raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You?"

The adult shrugged casually, not seeing the issue.

"Yup. Can't really explain it. I've always been like that, even before coming here." He leaned back again, closing his eyes. "To be honest, I see it as me being true to myself."

Okay, Lili could say she had enough of this.

Crossing her arms, she walked in front of him, showing her disapproval.

"How strong are you? Like, what level?" She basically commanded and the man blinked at her.

"Does it matter? I'm basically retired," he tried to wave her off, but he stopped when her eyes narrowed.

"It matters to me." Her expression grew softer. "It should to you too."

Awkwardly, Obsidian scratched his cheek, probably embarrassed by this.

"Technically..." He trailed off, tapping his left arm in thought. "Puh...above four, probably."

Above level-

Lili choked and hit her chest to get rid of it, ignoring the minor concern from her teacher.

How the hell did that guy develop such a low self esteem?!

He should apologize to all people with low self esteem, like herself!

"Technically?" She rasped out, trying to keep her indignation in check. It appeared it worked, because the man acted like she didn't overreact or anything and stretched out his legs.

"I'm rusty. My mind isn't honed so I can't use as much magic as I did in my prime. Close combat feels sluggish." He gave her a pointed look and a small smirk. "There is more than stats in combat. Remember that, Liliruca."

With those words, he laughed warmly at her and petted her head.

The two of them casually conversed about meaningless stuff then, with Obsidian having decided to skip training entirely as the "mood was gone" according to him. Favorite weather, color, all those things.

However, one thing stuck out for Lili and remained in her head when they sat next to each other in silence.

This was the first time he actually talked about himself. As in, in depth. More than he ever did in their time together.

The realization made her gut twist.

She didn't know anything about him at all, did she? She never tried earnestly, up until now.

Lili averted her eyes as the man stared at the horizon next to her.

It was not a pleasant feeling.

Who knew how much this man bottled up, hid behind a facade, just like her?

Perhaps she could help him, just like he helped her, someday.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Wine Maker**

Four months.

It has been four months ever since Liliruca Arde left the service of supporter for his family. Four months ever since Obsidian Noir took her under his tutelage.

He remembered the day the bandaged man barged into his workshop. Not that it was anything new. Soma had many people come in unannounced.

They were all equally ignored and kicked out by one of his stronger willed children, Zanis.

Why should they matter? They lost to a small taste of his wine.

They disappointed him and with that, he was disappointed by the world.

It was not how he imagined his life on the lower world would be. Alas, it was like that and he had to make the best out of it.

However, Noir was different.

For one, even Soma would remember a person dressed like this. An outsider, already a rare occasion.  
The god had no idea how he got in without gaining any attention.

What surprised him even more was that the bandaged man didn't want any of his wine.

He wanted Liliruca under his care.

Why, Soma never understood.

At first, he wanted to ignore the unknown man. He had need of her money and didn't see any need to follow his wishes. Any time wasted not making his wine was time wasted of his life on this world. Besides, the girl wasn't special. He would have remembered more than a name, that's for sure.

Soma ignored his rant about how a little girl like her shouldn't suffer like that. How it was wasted potential and an affront to one's humanity. How Soma should be ashamed of letting something like this happen, asking him if there was something like a heart left.

The rage, indignation, sadness..

Everything was ignored, for the sake of his wine.

All of that changed when Obsidian Noir took a bottle of his soma and drank it all in one go.

He was completely sober afterwards and remained like that.

"Ready to listen now?" He growled back then, like a wild animal ready to pounce.

With that, the man had Soma's full attention, making him even stop his work on his wine.

His demands were simple and rather fair.

Liliruca would be his responsibility and he would pay for her expenses, including the tax. In return, Soma made sure to command his family to not go after her, like the last times she tried to go away (which was news to him, but the more you know) and update her status anytime Obsidian demanded.

By all means, Noir could have asked for anything and Soma would have complied. Any mortal able to withstand his wine and show no real interest to it…

The god yearned for such people to exist. People to withstand and prove to him they weren't disappointments.

With this arrangement, the god had hope that Liliruca would be able to fight against his soma as well, just like her teacher.

If she would be able to drink it without any problem as well, it would be great.

Anyway, the god was surprised it took Obsidian that long to request an update.

Maybe he forgot, maybe he had other reasons.

Whatever the reason was, today was the day Liliruca came to him to become stronger.

He never paid attention to her, but Soma assumed a girl like her was supposed to look well fed and healthy. She certainly looked like that, with the white dress and clean skin.

Anyway, she had a stone cold expression and the god couldn't blame her.

Noir did put emphasis on her bad life.

Nothing he could change now. All Soma could do was to be courteous and update her status.

That was only minutes ago.

At the moment, he was alone as she had already left, paper in hand and he stared at it.

Despite his hobby, Soma did update adventurers regularly. His family may not be the strongest in the dungeon, but they were still skilled. He had seen many sheets. Many histories.

It was also known he almost never interacted with other gods. Why should he? It would be against the purpsoe of descending from heaven in the first place. Because of that, he did not know how other sheets or families worked.

However…

Soma knew for sure that this sheet of Liliruca Arde was out of the ordinary.

For one, the former supporter received a new skill.

Nobody knew how skills appeared, unlike Developmental Abilities. They were not limited by level ups and were often very unique, from what little he heard.

Beneath her skill, Artel Assist, it was clearly written.

Infinite Shift.

An impressive ability, but difficult to master.

So difficult, that Soma wondered why a Falna would ever grant something like that to someone.

Normally a skill was something that fit an adventurer. Adapted to one.

But this…

This forced the adventurer to adapt to the skill.

The gains were amazing, almost mind bogglingly, but to get to that point...It required a specific behavior.

However, there were other parts of the status update that bothered him.

The stat increase.

Except of magic, all her parameters grew in an insane level.

Speed D. The rest were various level's of E, with Endurance and Dexterity, both almost being D.

It was too high for a former supporter who didn't take a step in the dungeon ever since his deal.

He was aware of the common growth of other adventurers. He was aware the biggest gain came from being in the dungeon.

In four months, some of his family were lucky to even reach a fourth of that speed.

After seeing the sheet, the girl was equally surprised, before dashing off all of a sudden, almost possessed by something.

As if the girl had to test if what she saw was real.

Soma couldn't blame her. If he was an adventurer and wasn't busy with wine making, he would probably do the same.

Probably.

Anyway, the god came to one conclusion.

Liliruca had no idea about the source of her growth and the reason.

Which led to one person.

Obsidian Noir.

It had to be him. All of this happened because he took Liliruca under his care.

Under normal circumstances, Soma would be able to gleam something from the Falna about him. The exilia recorded the history of an adventurer. Therefore, he would have read what the Pallum did in those past months. It may have not told him much about the mysterious man, but it would have given him some hints.

It was the first time he cared about something else and it excited Soma a little.

But, the god could not help but stare at the sheet with disappointment and confusion.

Several spots were simply gone. Erased, as if someone ripped out the letters.

Shopping trips, side jobs, meals, they were all there.

But nothing that could have told him a bit about the reason of such growth. Anything related to combat or Obsidian Noir himself was not available.

Someone tampered with the Falna.

Someone gave Liliruca that new skill on purpose, enabled the better grow and erased parts of her history.

Someone tried to protect Obsidian Noir's identity.

Only gods could give out a Falna, which meant either this man had a god or someone just took a liking to him.

The former appeared more likely.

It would explain how he withstood soma.

An experienced adventurer would be able to have enough willpower and some gods tended to be secretive.

The god did remember the rule of them not allowed to use their godly powers, but how well was that rule enforced?

Maybe some out there could cheat.

Soma sighed and hid the update sheet away.

Well, it made sense. Some might value their privacy a lot, going so far as with modifying it. Maybe his weird feeling was tricking him and this wasn't so weird?

It didn't change the status and while it would have been nice to read more about what the Pallum did, it wasn't pressing. It was over the top, yes, but what did he know about other gods?

Obsidian Noir didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him or anyone else.

With that in mind, he focused on his wine making, the drive he had to discover the secret of Noir leaving him.

He could have went outside and asked around.

But it was too much of a hassle. He liked his isolation and he assumed that neither Liliruca nor her teacher wanted to gain unneeded attention. They looked like the type.

So, he was satisfied with the explanation in his head.

The god was completely ignorant of his false assumptions.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Taste of Freedom 3.1**

"Hello! How can I help you?" A black haired woman asked in a pleasant tone and Lili blinked.

"Errr..." The girl awkwardly let out and stared at the ground.

The woman in the guild's outfit patiently smiled at her, brushing her shoulder long hair aside a bit.

What was she doing?

Running out on Soma, rushing to a shop to by health potions with her savings, returning home to wear something more practical and then rushing to Babel without any delay...

Seriously, what was she doing?

Now that she was standing in front of the counter, dressed in a simple brown shirt and short shorts, she processed why she was even here.

Closing her eyes, she clutched her chest.

The burning in her chest almost became unbearable. Hearing her status, her new skill...

The girl sighed and opened her eyes as she raised her head.

She finally figured out what it was.

It was the greed for freedom. Wanting a taste of it.

To leave the old Liliruca Arde behind.

To become someone she could be proud of, not the dirty supporter of the past who only stole and lied to survive.

Ironically, in order to do that, she had to do the very thing she despised others for.

Being an adventurer. Beings that fought against monsters and proved their strength time and time again.

How the tables had turned.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to the assistant and bit her lip.

"I'm Liliruca Arde from the Soma family...I...I want to register as an adventurer," Lili said in a quiet tone and the woman gasped for a moment.

Then her smile became even brighter and bowed a bit.

"Oh! Well, that's great! I am Mavis Celia! Please follow me..."

Without further ado, the two females went into a room in the back of the guild's building. Then Lili had to sign a bunch of papers.

The Pallum forgot about the amount of legal work. She had to do it once as a supporter, but this was a lot more than that.

Anyway, when she was done signing them, Mavis carried a box with heavy breath and put it down, gesturing at it.

"We rent armor for any newcomers. Please, take any you want after paying the fee," the worker gestured at it and collected the documents.

Lili took a look at them. She was no expert, but these were beginners only, barely able to handle attacks from the weakest of monsters.

It was better than nothing and the Pallum had the budget to afford one. It dried up her savings quite a bit though, especially after buying those potions.

With a small ache in her heart and wallet, she took up a simple leather chest piece and strapped in one. Then, she pulled out the valis to pay for it.

An impressed grunt made Lili turn to the guild worker, who was looking through her documents.

"Huh, according to these papers you used to be a supporter..." Mavis muttered, before smirking at her. "Finally going up the ranks, then?"

"You...could say that," Lili replied with hesitation. If the guild employee she didn't show it and nodded before she opened the door for the Pallum.

"Well, since you already went into the dungeon, I don't have to emphasize on being careful and sticking to the first floors." Sternly, she raised her right index finger. "Do not go deeper than the first two, understood?"

The student had to suppress the urge of telling her about her status, just so that she could go deeper.

But with the self control she learned from her teacher, she managed to reign it in.

No need to go overboard.

Well, it wasn't like he taught her that.

Lili only learned that losing her temper in training made it worse. Her bruises were a good enough reminder.

"Yeah...sure..." She muttered with a lowered head. Then she jumped a bit when a hand touched her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Relax, I'm sure you'll be fine!" Mavis told her and gave her a thumbs up. Lili gave her a small smile in return.

With that, her feet carried her towards the entrance she went through almost her entire life, every day.

She came to a stop a bit in front of it.

Huh…

She took in a shaky breath.

The...the entrance looked bigger than she remembered.

She closed her eyes and exhaled.

No. No take backs.

She was already here, going back was the same as giving up.

"Just the first floor...just the first floor...Need to get home before teacher..." Lili muttered and began to walk in. She slapped her face lightly and shook her head, before opening her eyes with determination. "You got this!"

Going down the hole, the girl was surprised that not many adventurers were around.

Probably because they were deeper in already, considering it was midday.

A few moments later, she arrived, with Liberty in its knife form.

The Beginning Road.

Familiar paths that could fit in a cave, familiar light blue colored stone walls, familiar darkness...

"Welcome back, I suppose..." Lili muttered and cracked her neck a bit.

A beat later and she winced, rubbing the spot that popped.

Damn, she got that habit from Obsidian. He always did that regularly. At first it annoyed her, but now she had it as well.

Curses upon him.

Well, whatever, the girl thought and carefully looked around.

No monster in sight yet. Or adventurer.

Perfect time to try out her new status.

Start slowly.

With only goblins and kobolds on this floor, she could afford to experiment and not die because of a stray attack.

With a relaxed stance, arms hanging loosely next to her, she took a deep breath again, before leaning forward, ready to sprint.

First...testing her speed and dexterity.

Also known as athletics.

She did a lot of running to get here, but now she could actually pay attention to it.

Starting to jog, she started to accelerate more and more.

A small while later and she already sprinted, jumped and rolled through the area, kicking of the walls a few times because she could. The girl couldn't help but giggle excitedly.

Her body felt so light and fast!

If she had to guess, she was at the very least twice as fast than before. And she didn't even feel winded yet.

Considering her parameters, she shouldn't have been so surprised it was that easy. But theory and practice differed like day and night.

Next step…

She heard a crack behind her and taking a glance at it, she saw a kobold emerging from the wall.

Her smirk widened and she stopped, before turning around and jamming her dagger into the dog head of the monster.

Strength.

Considering it smashed to the ground with a loud bang and vanished into dust, she probably had this covered as well.

The only stat she didn't try out yet was her defense, but…

She did not want to test that out.

So slaughtering a bunch of monsters it was.

Considering it was the first floor, the rate monsters appeared was rather slow, so she could take her time.

Side Slash against throat. Change to hammer. Wait. Smash against wall. Change to naginata. Wait. Stab through stomach, cut upwards.

Lili's grin began to falter.

To be honest, this was getting repetitive.

By all means, it was too simple for her. It didn't satisfy her.

Maybe…

She stared at Liberty and at the new monsters spawning.

Her grin reappeared.

Yeah, she could try that out now. She had the body for it and it would help her test out Infinite Shift.

A bit more...transition.

First though, she needed more enemies and waited patiently for the monsters to stack up, casually dodging their leaps and lunges.

Like her teacher, she swayed around, arms hanging loosely, almost like a drunk. He said it was because it was easier to change directions if one was relaxed, like the wind.

Lili was sure he was bullshitting her and bragged about his superior speed.

Well, she couldn't blame him now. It was pretty relaxing to dodge like that and it was fun.

The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance as she ducked another jump of a goblin.

Damn it, why did the gods make her empathize with her teacher? She couldn't complain with that righteous feeling anymore!

Anyway, seeing five monsters in a nice bundle, Lili decided to try out something she always wanted to try.

Goblin. Aim for throat with knife from the right. Use momentum from jump to make a roll. Shift Hammer. Smash kobold from above. Dead. Spin, shift to naginata and cut.

Eyes hit. Still alive. Another spin, twirl weapon and cut upwards.

Kick behind her, then turn around and jab blade into another goblin.

Use shaft as lever to jump over the decaying body, stomp on kobold. Shift back to dagger and jam it into the right eye, through the brain.

Exhaling, she took a look around, not seeing any more monsters.

Relaxing a bit, she walked towards the crystals and remnants of the bodies to gather that loot, Liberty as her dagger to make the work easier.

It was pretty much second nature, a left over from her supporter days, so she didn't even think about what she was doing.

Instead, she reviewed her fight.

That was smoother than expected.

It wasn't perfect, she lost her balance a bit in the spinning and she had to work on her grip…

But it worked better in practice than she hoped for.

Maybe she shouldn't have tried this out in the middle of the dungeon…

But her adrenaline erased any thoughts about that.

Besides, she did it! A few more times and she would get the hang out of it.

Her skill also worked. She could feel it at work and she could only imagine what would happen if she fought more.

Lili tried to suppress a laugh. But in the end it proved too much and she threw her head up, laughing more than she ever did in her life.

This…

This was fun!

No wonder so many became adventurers! This was a real high!

Pocketing the small treasures, Lili looked around.

The entrance to the next floor was close by…

But she was on a time limit. Her teacher would snap her neck if he found out about this.

But this was so much fun…

The girl let out a suppressed groan of frustration, crossing her arms as she was stuck between those two choices.

However, the choice was taken from her.

Instincts honed by daily beatings, from her time as a supporter and as a student of Obsidian Noir, alarmed her of danger close by.

Ill intent radiated from behind her.

Spinning around, she held Liberty, changing into its naginata form. High above her head, she was ready to stab anyone that tried to threaten her.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw what was behind her.

Or rather who.

A flash of anger appeared on three faces, but quickly got replaced by sneers.

Familiar sneers.

It were the three thugs that wanted to pick a fight with her and Obsidian.

Though the bruises were new.

Nevertheless, the girl remained on guard, making sure nothing was behind her as she kept her distance with a glare.

"Well, lookie who is here?" The thug leader jeered at her and glanced at the others with a smirk. "Little supporter thinks she is an adventurer?"

"Come on, you shouldn't swing that weapon around like that. It's dangerous, you know?" Random thug number 2 said with a dirty laugh and the other chuckled with him.

"Yeah. You probably stole that anyway...Why not use something more your size? A toothpick would suit you," Random thug number 3 said with a dirty smirk, before it changed to a more hate filled expression. "Besides, we need some compensation after what your teacher did to us! So hand over the money and maybe we will forgive you!"

The three men brandished their weapons.

Two spears and their leader with a sword.

Despite the threat she was facing, Lili couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Huh.

So that's what he did when he left the Hostess for a moment.

She couldn't say she blamed him for that.

These bastards were persistent, if nothing else.

Anyway, since these gentlemen told her their intentions so eloquently, it would be amiss to not show the same courtesy.

"Fuck off," she growled at them.

"Hah, here we were being nice..." The leader said, shaking his head. Then he snapped his head up, a dark sneer on his face like on the others. "Last warning, you little shit. Drop the weapon and the crystals and we might be lenient with you."

As a response, the Pallum spat to the ground in front of her.

The leader rolled his eyes and gestured for the other two to rush in.

They did exactly that, running at her with their spears pointed at her, with the leader following right behind them.

She needed more stability. Something that made it easier to parry the long weapons.

Dagger it was.

There wasn't any surprise on their faces when she changed Liberty, so they had to stalk her for some while.

Didn't matter. Focus on fighting.

Spears stabbed after her. She batted them away with the dagger. Also, she made sure they hit either the walls or the other spear to delay and buy time.

It also made sure that the third one couldn't go after her, considering that the first floor was narrow like a house floor sometimes.

Good thing she didn't went deeper.

Ducking away from a swing against her head, she stepped back and glanced behind her. Since it was free, she put more distance between themselves.

Her mental map told her she had a lot of leeway to back off.

Deciding not to stick to defense all the time, she changed to the naginata after batting another batch of attacks. Then, she slashed after them, not to hit, but to buy time.

Lili barely scratched the right one, before she had to focus back on defending.

As this spiel went on, the girl noticed something.

They were awfully slow compared to her teacher.

Like, a turtle compared to a wolf slow.

She could see them with relative ease. How they moved, what they planned. Maybe it was because they didn't want to go for killing blows or maybe they were just playing around. Nevertheless, they were not fast enough to trick her eyes.

However, her body wasn't as fast as her perception.

Clicking her tongue, the thugs began to press her as they started to become faster and more precise with their attacks. She had to give it to them, they could work together rather well.

It was a back and forth. She jabbed after the right one, the left one immediately came after her. Because of that, she had to swing to the side, stopping the third from rushing through the middle and defend herself. However, the right one would dash forward, which forced her to spin kick, transform to dagger and focus on defense.

She was being overwhelmed, slowly but surely.

Normally, three vs one would be to her severe disadvantage. As much as she hated them, they were fighters.

However...all of that would only account if her skill wouldn't exist.

Switch to hammer. Smash on the ground, scatter stones and deny vision.

"What the hell?!" The leader thug exclaimed, but Lili took advantage of that.

Dash forward, naginata, retract blade, smash staff into the left goon. Then to the right. Sway back when sword was aimed to the head, back away.

Dagger out, matched blades with sword fighter.

Other two fighters regained wits.

Back off, naginata back on, use spins to confuse, while keeping up the offensive, as her weapon began to blur and create wind currents.

The shock on their faces was ecstatic, as she accelerated and her blows increased in force.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way she could pull this off that easily.

However, she had a skill.

Infinite Shift.

It was incredibly unfair, but she enjoyed every second of it. It gave her the ability to punch way above her usual weight.

Back to hammer, swing wildly in the air, making them back off so that their weapons wouldn't break.

As long as she kept switching attacks and blocks, her stats would grow temporarily.

The more different the attack, the greater the growth. Naturally it would be limited since there were only so many ways a weapon could be used.

However, Liliruca found out how it was meant to be used.

Ignoring their snarls, Liberty became a dagger again and she rolled forward, aiming for their legs.

Sadly, they didn't make it that easy, but she managed to press them.

Changing weapons "reset" her counter and her other weapons would "recharge" for a certain time before they could be used again. To increase her stats again as if the weapon was new.

With Liberty, she had almost the perfect weapon. The growth did increase, she noticed, as in that switching between three weapons gave her not enough time to reuse the other forms to their full potential.

However, it had weaknesses.

The first was simple.

She needed to keep attacking.

Stopping for more than a second to three would take away that growth in incredible speeds. Already after ten seconds of doing nothing would revert her status back to normal.

It was a skill that demanded being aggressive. Demanded many weapons and creative use. Great awareness.

It was natural, then, that she wouldn't be perfect.

From the corner of her eyes, she realized her mistake.

She went too deep in.

One of them, the sword wielder, managed to flank her.

The blade fell against her back.

A hit got in.

A flash of pain burned, as it dug through the armor and bit into her flesh.

And with that, she felt herself weaken substantially.

Instantly, she rolled forward, marginally closer to the exit and turned around, breath heavy and teeth gritted.

Well, at least she tested out that Endurance, the girl mused on her knee with dagger in hand. It could have been worse.

But it was kinda useless if it went away that quickly.

Second weakness.

She could not get hit.

One hit and all the progress she gained would be vanishing by at least a half, depending on how interrupting the attack was. Even a graze was enough.

The shock of the damage and losing her burning power made her hesitate from going in again, making her lose even more.

A do or die skill.

If one didn't risk everything, they didn't gain the benefits.

It was more suited for powerful, high class adventurers, not someone like her.

"Okay, gotta admit...That was pretty tough," the leader heaved and wiped the sweat off his forehead, but grinned widely with his goons. "Not tough enough. But you know what they say...the success after hard work tastes even sweeter!"

Lili ground her teeth even more.

Crap, he noticed her expression.

Considering that she lost her boost and they were going to expect it this time, she lost her only chance.

The thought made her freeze and she forced herself to stand up, despite her fear.

With defiance, she glared at them.

She was not going to get beaten now!

Not after everything she did!

"Excuse me?" A polite, young male voice sounded against the walls.

The three men in front of her froze.

Lili raised an eyebrow and glanced behind her.

She froze as well and gaped.

Handsome features were facing her almost on the same height. The definition of a handsome blonde. Short hair, blue eyes and a cool smile that would woo any girl.

The man was also a Pallum like her, but radiated power.

"Is there a problem?" The man asked again with the same polite tone, but one could easily hear the threatening subtext.

The spear casually leaning against his shoulder did not help.

The goons were smart enough to recognize when they were out of their depth and instantly put their weapons away, nervous smiles on their faces.

"No, no! Of course not!" The bald leader exclaimed, letting out a strained laugh. "We just had a...heated discussion, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Totally!"

Lili bristled at their casual dismissal, but didn't dare to make a move.

Who knew how this could go if she lost her temper?

Stay calm and think of all possibilities. Teacher's words.

Anyway, the blonde hummed for a while, smile gone and nodded.

"Very well." Instantly his smile came back and he gestured to his back. "Might I suggest you gentlemen leave this dungeon? Maybe clearing your head might help."

His tone didn't sound like a suggestion, as he spun his weapon playfully, with a grin that showed more than just politeness.

The Soma thugs noticed as well and turned white pale.

"A-alright!"

With that, the three hurried out of the dungeon, leaving the two Pallum alone.

Lili didn't notice she fell on her knees with relief as she closed her eyes.

That was too close.

Who knew what could have happened?

"Are you okay?" A gentle voice asked her and she opened her voice.

To stare directly in that handsome face.

Lili froze and gulped.

Okay, she couldn't deny it anymore. She had to face the truth.

Better get the freak out over quickly.

It...it…

It was the fricking Braver!

What was wrong with her life?! First the strongest mage of Orario, now the strongest Pallum, Finn Deimne?!

Did Obsidian also have a skill called "bullshit attraction"?!

Why was she staring at her with so much concern?

Oh, right, he asked a question.

"Uhm, yes!" Lili yelled out, then instantly blushed and averted her eyes.

Finn laughed lightly, making her blush even more and stood up, as he held his hand towards her.

"A young girl told me some...unpleasant individuals were tailing a Pallum. I assume it is you?" The high class adventurer asked her, tilting his head.

Accepting his hand to stand up, she cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I...guess..." Then she realized how the fight must have looked to an outsider, and looked up with panic. "I-I can explain all of this!"

However, the man raised his hand patiently and nodded in understanding.

"No, no. I see. Self defense. There are some cases were adventurers assault others to make easy money." His smile vanished, his expression growing serious. "Do you know them?"

Lili bit her lip.

There...was no harm telling him, right?

Her god didn't do anything, so why not get help from somewhere else?

"They...are from the same family. Soma," she said with hesitation and the man's eyes widened for a moment, before they narrowed, quiet anger burning in them.

"Ah..." He let out a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Does this happen often?"

Lili could only nod weakly and the man squeezed her shoulder lightly. Looking up, she saw him smile gently.

"I will report these people to the guild. Family or not, they have committed a crime," he said with determination, his left hand making a fist in front of his chest.

The girl couldn't help but blush and giggle a bit.

Outside help always felt like a dream to her. She was grateful for her teacher, but he didn't have much pull.

But here was an executive of the Loki family, willing to take her side.

Him being handsome was just the icing on the cake.

If only this would have happened sooner. Another ti-

Lili's eyes widened in shock, her smile vanishing.

"Wait, what time is it?" Lili asked, color fading from her skin. Her fellow Pallum blinked in confusion and scratched his chin in thought.

"The sun was setting when I came down here," he replied a moment later and the girl let out a small, muted whine.

Oh crap.

"I-I really need to get home, so if it wouldn't be too much of a bother…?" She stuttered nervously, her face beet red.

Finn looked at her for a moment.

Then he began to laugh, making her feel even more humiliated.

"Hahaha...Of course not. I think I can take it from here. My word should carry much worth." He bowed and kissed her knuckles like a gentleman. "I hope we will meet again."

Well, she could make use of this embarrassment.

Letting out a small meep, she ran like hell out of the dungeon, after saying a quick thanks.

The race against time went by like a blur to her, as she rushed through the streets.

In times like these she wished extended to movements as well, because she had to dodge quite a few crates and people in rather athletic ways.

Still, she entered Obsidian's house and slammed the door shut. Looking around, only the scarlet light filled the entrance.

She arrived before the night.

"Oh, good...I'm safe," the girl sighed with relief, shoulders slagging and she was about to sit down.

However, fate was not that nice.

"Are you now?" A deep, bass like voice asked and immediately she took out Liberty. Knife in hand, she got into position and looked around frantically.

Whose voice was that?!

Something moved in the shadows.

Her shoulders tensed and she widened her stance, ready to receive an attack.

The person came into the light.

The weapon fell from her hand and her entire body froze.

"Hi," Obsidian Noir said in a rage filled voice that promised a lot of pain.

Huh. So the gravely voice was on purpose, Lili noted through her numb fear.

* * *

 **A Taste of Freedom 3.2**

Lili had to endure many silences.

Silence of solitude, silence after a beating, silence of the dungeon if she was left behind in the dungeon...

But this one...was by far one of the worst.

Maybe because she cared for the other party more than she ever did for somebody else.

Sitting at the table, the girl looked down on the table, shoulder slouched as her teacher glared at her with crossed arms.

"So. Any excuses? Want to give me any ideas? What will it be?" The man growled and Lili couldn't help but blink at his voice again.

"Your voice-"

"Is not important," Obsidian immediately cut her off, slamming his hands on the table. The girl flinched and her teacher seethed as he leaned forward. "Where were you? I thought you said you would come back to this house after the upgrade and do the cleaning. Not even a note."

The Pallum knew she should have stayed calm and accept the verbal beatdown. She did have a fault in this.

However…

For some reason, she couldn't.

Maybe it was the fact that she technically lost a fight, maybe it was because he was so aggressive...

Whatever the reason was, she couldn't help but click her tongue and frown as her own anger began to grow.

"You already know, don't you?" She ground out through her teeth and glared at him.

The man seethed and fell back on his chair, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself. Explain yourself why you wanted to get yourself killed," the man drawled, crossing his arms again.  
Okay, she didn't have to take this from him.

The girl mimicked his posture, fully aware it was a gesture of mockery and huffed.

"I'm fine, aren't I?"

Obsidian clapped his hands, as if giving a dramatic applause. The girl winced from the volume and saw that he was not amused at all.

"Ah yes, perfect counter point. I didn't die, right? Very good." He let out a snort and stood up, beginning to pace around in the room. "You went in on a whim. Because you wanted to feel good!" He stopped and turned his head to her, eyes narrowed. "How are you different from those thugs again?"

Lili stood up so fast the chair behind her fell to the ground and she snarled at him.

"I'm not the one who assaulted a girl because they felt like it!"

Her yelling didn't accomplish the desired effect, since the man let out a sigh and shook his head, a dry chuckle escaping him.

"So they attacked you. This is getting better and better..." He muttered darkly and facepalmed.

The Pallum in turn raised her hands in surrender, suppressing a scream of frustration.

"Okay, fine! Maybe I should have told you! But you know what?!" She let her arms fall, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Can you blame me? You know what I've been through! Weak, useless!" She took in a shaky breath and lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. "I...I wanted to know how it felt like..."

"That's not an excuse," Obsidian said with restrained anger, pointing his right finger at her.  
"It's not, I know! But I want you to understand!" Lili begged, her voice breaking as tears fell down her face. "I finally feel happy with who I am! Feel free! Able to do...to do what I could never do! Be strong!" She wiped her eyes and looked at him with disappointment. "I thought you would be happy too..."

"Happy. With you in the dungeon," her teacher said in a flat tone and spat to the ground.

"What's that supposed to mean now?" The student asked in disbelief.

Did he not hear anything she said before that? What was wrong with him?!

She opened her mouth, but the man slammed his hand on the table, leaving a crack on it. The shock kept her still and he took the opportunity to tear into her.

"You have no idea how terrifying this dungeon can be. How many lives it took." His right hand shook as he raised it and shook it. "You wanted to know how an adventurer feels like? Well, there you have it. You're lucky to be alive. I hope you don't do something stupid like that ever again."

He shook his head again and clicked his tongue.

So dismissive.

Lili stood there for a moment, frozen, before letting her anger take over the wheel.

He wasn't the only one who could insult others.

A hollow laugh escaped her, making him glance at her in confusion.

"So what, I'm supposed to keep being an errand girl?! What a great life!" She threw her arms up, an evil grin on her face as she pointed at him. "What next, should I wear bandages as well?"

"YOU THINK I CHOOSE THIS?!"

Obsidian's cracking roar was followed by him smashing the table in front of him with ease, while also cracking the ground with the air pressure. Lili backed off with fear, her back hitting the wall. The man looked up in surprise, making the girl shrink down. Then he looked down as if he only realized what he just did.

Slowly, he took a chair and sat down, taking heavy breaths and covering his face.

Lili slowly calmed down as well, and grabbed her left arm tightly with regret as she leaned against the wall.

She bit her lip as she saw the man slowly calm down, not meeting her eyes.

This was insensitive of her. Her anger was justified, she didn't deny that, but fighting fire with fire was a mistake. Besides, she picked the one topic she was ignorant about to insult him with.

She could have done better. Picked her words wiser.

Too late to fix that now.

"When I said I can't go into the dungeon, I mean it quite literally," he said after a period of silence, awfully calm.

But she could see how much he tried to calm himself down as he pointed at her, hand vibrating with emotions.

"You still have your courage. Don't lose it. But don't lose your life either. There is a difference between courage and overconfidence." He took in a shaky breath and pointed into the general direction of Babel. "That place is dangerous. I know that better than you might think. So if you don't plan ahead, be careful, respect the dungeon...You will get yourself killed. Others killed."

He closed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, his fists doing the same as they were on the table.

"Or worse," he muttered out in a suffering tone.

The girl stared at him with wide eyes.

Those were words of someone who failed.

But how? He admitted he was strong. What could have happened that he would perceive as failure?

Lili took a deep breath and shook her head.

Whatever the reason was...his points made sense to her, as paranoid as they sounded.

Still…

She was not going to run away.

"Then train me. You promised me to become stronger. Now is the time to prove it," the Pallum said in a quiet tone, but her eyes were burning with will as she walked over to him. "I'm done being afraid. Stuck in a role I don't want to be."

She stood next to him, waiting for an answer as she crossed her arms.

He looked up and met her eyes.

It took a lot from her not to flinch away from them.

Unlike the stern, calm, but also casual eyes, she was met with desperation. Inner conflict.

As if he wasn't sure what he should do.

It was a far cry from his relatively confident composure during training.

"I..." He said quietly, looking down on the floor while clenching his hands together. He closed his mouth and bit his lip, his eyes clouded for a moment.

Then he nodded slowly, letting out a deep breath.

"Yeah...yeah, I guess I should. I can't stop you...It...it wouldn't be right...I get it, I get it..." He looked at her, eyes now relatively composed and determined. "I'll train you properly. Someone has to."

Lili released her breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled at him. However, he extended his hand to her with his palm up.

"No going into the dungeon until I'm satisfied with your progress." He wiggled his fingers with a frown. "Liberty, please."

Her smile fell and she immediately wanted to decline. But she bit the retort back, realizing that Obsidian was already compromising a lot. Besides, it was hard enough for him to get to this point. Scaring him away, so to say, would destroy all the progress she just made.

So with a sigh, she pulled out the stick and put in his hand.

After pocketing it, all energy seemed to seep out of his body and threw his right arm behind the chair.

"Ah, man...if I wouldn't be immune to liquor, I could use a drink right now..." Obsidian said in his gravely voice, rubbing his throat. "All that yelling hurts my throat..."

Lili couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, weirded out by the sudden change of tone.

"And that voice doesn't?" She asked in a skeptical tone, pointing at him. In response the man shrugged.

"It's called adaption. I got used talking like this."

"Why are you even doing that?" Lili asked, crossing her arms as she sat down in front of him.

"It makes me mysterious and I don't like my voice. Not really," the man muttered and pulled out his water bottle again, before taking some sips from it.

"Like your looks," the girl said in a flat tone, before rolling her eyes. "Long story?"

"Yup," Obsidian replied, at least looking a bit sorry.

The girl simply sighed.

She burned up all her anger beforehand, so she felt rather relaxed now.

"Immune to liquor?" The Pallum casually asked and the man winced, scratching his head awkwardly.

"If you have drank as much as I did, you develop immunity as well. Not even soma can do anything to me anymore." A deep suffering groan escaped him after pocketing his drink. "Sometimes it's a pain."

Also a long story, Lili mentally added dryly.

Whatever.

She would figure out the truth eventually.

For both of their sakes.

For now...She enjoyed the silence between them. Despite their confrontation, she felt like they...got closer.

However…

"So, you are going to buy a new table, right?"

Her teacher shot her a flat look and her smirk grew wider.

"Cocky little shit."

The girl laughed even when the man threw a piece of wood after her.

* * *

 **A Taste of Freedom 3.3**

Absentmindedly, Lili washed the dishes slowly, staring blankly against the wall.

Some water splashed against her apron, but the girl didn't really care.

She did a few side jobs in the Hostess. Mama Mia always appreciated the help and the Pallum was fitting right into the cute girl theme it had going.

The girl liked the work here. Everyone was nice to her, the maid outfit was comfortable and it gave her a sense of purpose.  
Also, the pay was nice. Nice enough that she worked regularly here in part time. One of the highest paying jobs she had from the dozens she had. Not to mention the free food.

Still, it didn't change the fact…

The Pallum groaned and let her head hang loosely, hands down in the water.

Gods, was she bored!

"Is something amiss, Arde?"

The aloof female voice startled the girl. She yelped, throwing a wet plate up in the air.

Another hand snatched it before it could shatter on the ground and Lili held her chest, heavy breath as she leaned against the sink.

Looking up, she saw a certain elf putting the plate to the rest. Then, the blonde tilted her head slightly, folding her hands in front of her.

"Oh, Miss Lyon..." The Pallum muttered and Ryuu bowed politely.

"Apologies. I did not want to startle you."

Lili waved her off, taking deep breaths.

"No, no...I wasn't paying attention," she muttered, relaxing slightly.

"Nevertheless, I apologize." The waitress narrowed her eyes slightly with disapproval. "However, you should be more careful. Even washing dishes is a job that needs focus."

The student winced and scratched her head sheepishly.

"Yeah, I was...thinking. Sorry."

For a moment, the elf stared at her with a neutral expression.

Lili began to sweat nervously.

She still couldn't read her. Was she in trouble? Was Ryuu mad?

"Let us take a break."

The woman gestured to the chairs in the backroom and looked at her politely.

The tone did not leave any room of objection.

Meekly, Lili sat down, hands on lying on her skirt. She bit her lip nervously as the elf sat in front of her, staring without blinking.

The Pallum fidgeted a bit. Ryuu always had that overwhelming presence, kinda like Riveria.

Was that an elf thing?

"May I ask what distracted you so much?" The elf asked after a period of silence and Lili blinked for a moment.

Then she let out a small "oh".

Right.

Now she felt dumb.

This wasn't the first time the older maid asked her such a question.

The elf always allowed her to vent her frustrations for some reason.

Well, if she was offering that service again, who was she to decline?

By all means, Lili should have gotten used to it by now.

Damn, she was really out of it.

"Well..." She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "It's been a week and I didn't even touch my weapon. Not to mention no training so far, so I guess my body is...getting restless."

Ryuu tilted her head slightly, neutral expression still in place.

"Weapon? You mean Liberty." Lili nodded, and the maid gestured for her to continue. "What did you do?"

An awkward giggle escaped the Pallum and she averted her eyes.  
"I went into the dungeon without his permission and he took it away until I'm ready."

In hindsight, she probably should have been more careful with the dungeon. Maybe tempers may have not gone so out of control back then at home.

When she glanced back, Lili could have sworn that a flash of disapproval appeared on Ryuu's face.

A blink later, and only minor concern was visible.

"Are you well?" The elf asked with slightly narrowed eyes and Lili waved her off.

"Eh, just a little scratch. I'm fine."

Ryuu held her chin and let out a small hum, which confused the girl a bit.

"What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and the blonde closed her eyes for a moment.

"I didn't expect Noir to be so...responsible," she said slowly, before opening her eyes again. "Where is he anyway?"

Lili shrugged and leaned back against the chair, crossing her arms with a frown.

"I don't know. He said something about...preparing me for the dungeon. Whatever that means."

He was rather mysterious about it as well.

The girl grumbled a bit.

Probably to act more cool or to tease her.

"It is the correct decision. Beginners should always be guided, when possible," Ryuu said with minor approval, surprising Lili.

It was like she knew from personal experience.

Then however, the elf's eyebrow twitched a bit.

"Even if the guidance is...suboptimal."

The Pallum laughed quietly and nodded.

"Yeah, he admits that he isn't the best for the job..." She said with amusement and she saw the blonde's mouth corners twitch a bit.

That quickly vanished however, as she gave the small girl a stern look.

"Nevertheless, as long as he makes sure you do not lose yourself in excitement, he should be doing a good enough job." She closed her eyes, as if dwelling in memories. "Many adventurers lost their lives due to their narrow view."

"You...sound like you know a lot about it," Lili said with hesitation, biting her lip uncomfortably. She hoped she didn't step on a wrong foot, but the elf's words made her curious.

Ryuu took a deep breath and opened her eyes, now devoid of any emotions.

"I have...experience, so to say," she replied in an even tone.

It was a clear sign not to push it and the former supporter wisely shut her mouth.

However, the period of silence she expected did not last as long.

"May I ask you a question?" The maid asked, her emotionless demeanor gone. Lili nodded and the elf crossed her legs. "Why not find a party? It would solve most of his worries, if you had allies to rely on."

The girl blinked and scratched her chin in thought.

That...could help. A lot actually.

Having backup was meant to compensate for personal skill.

However…

She needed people to trust. And it was hard to find other adventurers without a good reputation outside ones own family.

And her own family...

"Do you not belong to a family?" Ryuu asked, interrupting her flow of thought.

It was almost scary how it related to what was on her mind.

Still, the mere thought of working together with those drunks ever again…

Anger flared up in her chest.

"I would rather die than rely on them!" She snarled and leaned forward, almost standing up from her chair.

At the surprise on Ryuu's face, Lili's rage depleted quickly and got replaced by shame.

Shrinking back on her chair, she blushed furiously and looked down on the ground.

"Why is that?" The elf's calm voice made her look up and the Pallum was faced with a deep frown.

For a moment, Lili considered avoiding the topic, maybe even lying.

But those thoughts went out of the window when the frown intensified.

Truth it was.

And she gave it.

About how her parents died in the dungeon, leaving her alone for a long time.

About the abuse from her fellow members. How they stole her money, worked her to the bones with no gratitude and made sure she could never escape them up until now.

For some reason...she felt calm, as she sat there, shoulders slouched and staring to the ground with closed eyes.

It was...therapeutic to talk about it. She never did something like this with her teacher, since he probably already knew.

But this...revealing her feelings and story she hid so long…

It felt relieving. Like when she confronted Obsidian, negative emotions aside.

That relief quickly vanished when a shudder went down her spine.

"Unforgivable..." A female voice growled and Lili's head snapped up.

Ryuu's hands were curled up into fists and her eyes were filled with fury as she looked at the girl.

The ominous aura the Pallum could see around her made Lili flinch away, chair falling down as she backed off.

"M-Miss Lyon?" She stuttered, cursing that Liberty was not in her pocket. Instead, she glanced to the plates.

Might not do much good, but for a distraction…

Luckily for her, those thoughts were unneeded. As soon as she spoke, the elf blinked for a moment.

"Ah." Ryuu took a deep breath and averted her gaze in shame. "My apologies...I lost my temper for a moment."

"It's...alright," Lili muttered, pulling the chair back up.

Sitting down on it, the two females sat there in quiet awkwardness, avoiding each other's eyes.

"I once belonged to a family myself," Ryuu suddenly said and Lili looked at her in shock. "So I know how it should be. Supporting. Warm. Love."

"Ah..."

It made sense, since there were rumors of everyone in the Hostess being a former adventurer. It would explain the reputation of allowing no violence and enforcing that rule.

"You have my condolences."

As the elf bowed, Lili gathered her wits again and scratched the back of her head while wetting her lips.

"It's...it's alright. I mean, teacher is basically covering me, so it could be way worse..."

"And finding a new family isn't so easy. I understand," Ryuu finished her hesitant words.

Lili couldn't help but snort dryly.

"Who would want me anyway? Not a blacksmith, so Hephaestus is out. Not monster material, so Loki wouldn't pick me. And other families are either not my taste or wouldn't be able to afford the exchange, in comparison to what I can offer."

She let out a deep sigh. Now she made herself more depressed.

"Do not sell yourself short," the elf's voice said sternly and Lili looked up to see her standing up. "You are a girl with many talents and a hardworking nature." A small smile appeared on her face as she folded her hands in front of her. "You have more worth than you believe. There is a reason Noir choose you."

The Pallum stared at her for a moment, before blushing slightly with her own smile.

Then it vanished and got replaced by confusion.

"You sound like you know him," Lili asked with a raised eyebrow and Ryuu looked away with a sigh.

"Let's say...he is a kindred spirit, in a sense." A bit of disgust crept up her face. "A nightmare to even imagine, I assure you, but it is the truth."

"So what, he is into maid clothes as well?" The student asked in a skeptical tone.

For a moment they stared at each other.

Then they both chuckled, the mood way more relaxed now.

Lili knew there was more to her words, but the girl didn't want to create yet another awkward silence.

If the elf didn't want to share, she wouldn't push it. She did the same for Obsidian.

After calming down from their little fun, the blonde glanced at the girl as she faced the exit.

"Back to our previous topic, I suggest you should find some fellow adventurers."

Lili bit her lip.

"I could try. Maybe ask teacher to look into it," she said in an unsure tone and shook her head.

Hell, maybe he was doing that right now.

"I would advise you do that." Ryuu paused for a moment, before gesturing to the door. "How about you leave for today?"

The Pallum blinked and moved her head to the door and back to the elf.

"But...my shift isn't over yet..." she objected weakly, but Ryuu shook her head gently.

"There is never much to do in midday, so losing one pair of hands is not too damaging." A small smirk appeared on her face. "Besides, Mama Mia does not need to know, does she?"

For a moment, Lili stared at her.

Then she nodded cheerfully and was about to enter the dressing room, when Ryuu spoke up, leaning against the wall.

"If you require any help...I am willing to offer some."

Lili flashed a smile at the maid.

"Thanks, Miss Lyon."

The maid shook her head and smiled at her.

"Call me Ryuu, Liliruca."

* * *

 **A Taste of Freedom 3.4**

Lili breathed out and jabbed the weapon in her hands one last time against an imaginary head. Then, she hit the ground with one end of her staff and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Good thing she always carried a bag with spare clothes with her, just out of habit.

At the moment, she was on the training spot she and her teacher always used, dressed in an orange, sleeveless shirt and brown shorts.

It took a small detour to get a replacement weapon for training until her teacher stopped being so stingy.

Looking at her choice, she smiled a bit.  
Surprisingly, the practice staff was rather cheap. It was good quality as well.

Even though she left that life behind, good bargains always felt great.

Anyway, she picked up a bottle she bought on the way here and took a long sip from it.

Then, she sat down, leaning back against the wall, closing her eyes with a deep sigh.

Before searching for a party, she needed to get her body moving and get all that energy inside her out of the system.

Now that it was out, she felt rather relaxed.

But not relaxed enough to search for party members.

The girl bit her lip.

She hoped that a workout would boost her confidence...but it was not so.

She was still too nervous. Considering her past experience, it wasn't a big surprise to her.

What to do now, was the question in her head, if her courage failed her.

She was not in the mood of any work, since she would probably space out again.

There was also only so much she could do with solo training until it became repetitive.

Especially considering she only had this staff, so only the naginata and hammer moves could be practiced for now.

Going home was out of the question as well.

Obsidian still wasn't home and he would be the only reason to go home. Talking with him was always interesting in one way or another, especially once he began to talk more about Boundary and his family members.

The majority of Boundary's population were humans, though there were also werewolves and dwarfs here and there according to him.

It didn't make much sense to her, but apparently the latter two were closed to the more monster infested areas, unlike humans.

Obsidian also theorized that they were targeted specifically since they were better in some regards than humans.

Which implied that some monsters had intelligence.

When she asked him about that, he confirmed that some monsters did gain the ability to think and plan.

Lili still had some nightmares about it. Boundary truly was a hellhole.

She shuddered and shook her head, focusing on the trivia that did not scare her.

Culture wise, it only started to go past the tribal like mindset.

There used to be a strong "better them than us", sacrificing others in order to survive.

A country of pragmatism, he described it.

Obsidian's family only managed to define "them" into only monsters.

Nevertheless, there was a strong unity according to him. The only issue was connecting the different "tribes", but once that was done, he described it as a country that would never betray itself.

Never surrender, always work hard and reach for heaven. That was the common mindset among Boundary's people.

Lili chuckled. It sounded like a great place.

Still, even though it was a united front, Obsidian told her there were several "factions", specialized for their roles. It was uncommon for someone born in a certain faction to switch them. Individualism was uncommon.

Obsidian's family were the exception, not the rule. The community came first.

That part was something the Pallum was not sure she liked. But she could understand the necessity of it.

Anyway, moving past that, the girl tried to remember what he told her about fashion.

In the past, fur coats and the like were common to wear. Made sense, if it was a snow country.

But apparently, the mage of his family figured out how to install heating into the streets of each city _and_ invented a barrier that made sure that the weather and monsters would be less of an issue. Ever since that, lighter clothing became more popular, though it did not overcome fur and thick coats. Something about being so used to it.

Speaking of cities, he told her that there were four cities after he and his family beat back the monsters.

New Frontier, capital and research city of one Luciel Lightbringer.

Solaris, the city closest to the new monster front and basically a military outpost, led by Shino Katon.

Ventus, harbor of Boundary, with Braniac Hood leading it.

Ziodyne, the connection point between all three cities and basically a business central.

Supposedly led by Obsidian Noir, currently led by a handpicked council.

The Pallum was surprised that he just up and left, but he explained there were good reasons for his leave.

Then he went into detail about his comrades and Lili never saw him so happy and at ease. He even forgot to change his voice.

The oldest member, Braniac.

The archer of their family, the goatee wearing man was responsible for overall infrastructure and city management in general.

The short haired blonde was apparently the "responsible" one in the team, despite his flirty attitude. Considering he was apparently also an archer, it made him the perfect guy to "look over" his family members.

The youngest, Shino. The definition of a tomboy, Obsidian laughed back then.

Mimicking the style of the far east, the ponytailed red head was a front fighter through and through with her katana. Coincidentally, she wrote that training book.

That was one mystery out of the way.

Anyway, she was the one who trained the armies and had high respect from her soldiers.

Last, but not least, his best friend and a sister in all but blood, Luciel.

Head researcher for arcane effects. Also known as master sorcerer.

For some reason, Obsidian snorted, she preferred sorcerer instead of mage.

He described her as the best magic user in the world, even after arriving in Orario, having invented a lot of spells and mastering every single one of them.

Then...his words took a turn.

A loner. A bookworm. A creature of the dark that almost never outside if she could help it.

Dirty brown hair, fat, arrogant, antisocial, copying his hair style, however it looked like...

Actually, he was insulting her a lot.

Was that how siblings were supposed to be?

The girl shrugged.  
Whatever. It sounded nice anyway.

From his words…

Lili sighed with a smile.

She would love to meet them. It sounded fun.

"My, we meet again. What a coincidence."

A familiar handsome voice startled her out of her thoughts and she blinked.

Gods, how long was she sitting there? Her neck was so stiff.

Letting out a deep breath, she cracked it a bit, before looking up.

And blinked.

Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but gape.

There he was, a small blonde Pallum, smiling at her handsomely.

It's...it's…

The Braver again!

She shot up and cleared her throat awkwardly as she tried to act casual despite the flushed face.

The man grinned lightly and gestured with his head towards her staff.

"Training?"

"Uhm, yes!" She stammered out. Then she remembered what happened back then and quickly bowed. "T-thank you again for your help, Mr. Deimne!"

The adventurer laughed lightly and waved his hand casually.

"Please, call me Finn. We are both Pallum, are we not?" When she looked up, she saw him glance at her staff. "You are quite diligent. It's commendable. Not many have the drive to work on the basics like that."

Lili blushed as she giggled nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"Hehe...I..am just taking a break."

"Not that easy to stay motivated when alone?" The Braver asked in a knowing tone and Lili slowly nodded with a sigh.

"Kinda..." She bit her lip and fidgeted a bit. "About that thing in the dungeon…?"

"It has been taken care of. I heard that the guild fined these men specifically, since Soma apparently did give the order to cease any...aggressions," Finn explained in a reassuring tone and squeezed her shoulder a little.

While she felt a bit embarrassed by the skin contact, she couldn't help but blink in confusion.

Soma did?

Wow, he must have been running out of ingredients and didn't have anything better to do.

"Where is the weapon you used in the dungeon?" The blonde asked, shaking her out of her musings. Lili couldn't help but laugh awkwardly.

"Err...confiscated." At his inquiring raised eyebrow, she elaborated as she averted her eyes. "I...kinda went into the dungeon without my teacher's permission and now I can only use it when we train together."

For a moment, Finn stared at her with wide eyes.

Then he shook his head with a smirk, as if he remembered something.

"Hoh? It must be quite the responsible teacher then." He scratched his chin and nodded at Lili. "He is quite lucky to have such a cute and hardworking girl as a student as well."

"W-well, I'm lucky you...you were there. Yes..." The student stammered and took a step back so that she would not touch his perfect skin or smell his wonderful sme-

The girl turned around and covered her face.

Why was she thinking about those things? This was embarrassing!

Why couldn't teacher compliment her like that?

No, wait, that would be creepy.

Gods, what was wrong with her?!

Were it those "hormones" Obsidian once teased her about?!

Just as she was about to calm down, another voice sounded, this time a female one.

"Hey, captain! There you are! Why did you sudden...ly...go…?" The happy voice trailed off and Lili turned her head to the source.

And her jaw dropped to the ground.

A dark skinned amazon with long, black hair and breast that were barely restrained by the red cloth stood there like a statue, smile frozen in place.

Right behind her, a long haired blonde tilted her head in confusion, wearing a white dress with a mini skirt.

Lili rubbed her eyes and shook her head, before taking another look.

Nope, still there.

Tione Hiryute and Aiz Wallenstein arrived.

The Sword Princess, the Braver and the Jormugand, all in one place.

What the hell was up with her life?!

If Finn noticed anything weird, he didn't show it and instead casually gestured to his fellow Pallum.

"Oh, this is the Pallum I told you about."

Taking this as her cue, the girl took a deep breath and bowed politely, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"Liliruca Arde. It's an honor to meet you," she managed to respond in an even tone.

Then a shiver ran down her spine and she froze.

"Ah, yes. The girl you met in the dungeon...How nice..." Tione grit out and the student didn't dare to look her in the eyes. Seeing the fists clenching was terrifying enough, as was the dark aura radiating from her that was directly pointed at her.

What was this dreadful feeling of death?!

Glancing away, she looked at Aiz.

It did not do any more good to Lili's sanity.

Why was the sword princess staring at her with such wide eyes, as if she found a mystery?!

It only lasted for a moment, but there was some weird light in the princess' eyes, before the blank expression came back.

"Liliruca Arde?" Aiz inquired and stepped forward, blinking at the small girl. "Are you perhaps Obsidian Noir's student?"

"Wait, how do you know that, Aiz?" The amazon asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to her and forgetting whatever beef she had with Lili.

"Riveria told me," the Sword Princess replied, turning to the amazon as well. The latter made an "ah" sound and hit her palm with her right fist.

"Right, her 'book acquaintance'," she said, making sure to put emphasis on the latter two words with a smirk.

"It doesn't have to mean anything, Tione," Finn sighed and rubbed his forehead.

By now, Lili took a step back, quietly, as the three were engaged in their own conversation.

"Are you sure?" The amazon wiggled her eyebrows. "He is the only guy I know outside our family she meets on a regular basis."

"Is that...really so weird?" Aiz asked, tilting her head innocently and Tione huffed, crossing her arms.

"It's not a coincidence, that's for sure."

Lili blinked.

As much as she wanted to hear more about her teacher's activities, she already knew about his...thing with Riveria. Therefore, she meekly raised her hand.

Instantly, all three heads whipped to her and she shrunk down.

"If you want me to, I could go if I'm-"

Immediately, the Braver waved her off with a gentle smile.

"Nonsense. You aren't bothering anyone." He paused, then scratched his chin with a hum. "Actually...I am in the mood for a training session. Would you like to join? We need an even number anyway."

Lili bit her lip with hesitation.

"U-uhm...sure?"

The captain of the Loki family clapped his hands in delight, while Aiz merely nodded neutrally. Though there was some interest in her eyes if Lili saw it right.

Tione on the other hand...

The amazon was glaring at her like she was a disease.

Liliruca gulped as sweat ran down her skin.

 _Stop it, what did Lili ever do to you?! It was Finn's fault, not hers!_

Such thoughts filled her mind as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

The malicious aura was finally noticed by Finn, who turned to the guilty woman with a raised eyebrow.

"Tione, everything alright?"

The amazon put on the most forced smile Lili ever saw. Tione tried to act cute with her clasped hands in front of her and tilting her head.

"Just...peachy. I'm...glad, that our captain found...one of his race...working...so...so...hard..."

The man looked at the woman with a blank expression. Then he sighed and shook his head.

"Hm. Good. Because we will spar first," he said in a surrendering tone as he gestured between him and Tione.

Instantly, her mood made a complete turn and literal hearts appeared in her eyes as she held her hands against her cheeks.

"Yes, captain~!" She sang excitedly and dashed off in a beat, leaving a crack on the ground.

Finn chuckled awkwardly, before turning to the two other girls.

"Aiz, you train with Liliruca," he ordered, pointing at the two.

The two of them glanced at each other.

A few minutes later and she sat in front of the Sword Princess, wooden weapons next to them.

They both stared at each other in silence and Lili couldn't help but fidget by the intrigued stare she received.

In the background, she could hear Finn fighting for his own chastity as the amazon flirted furiously with him, while also engaging in a fist fight with him.

The girl stopped trying to look at it. Not because she couldn't follow it, but because it was super disturbing and it would be impolite to Aiz.

Who still stared at her.

Lili's eyebrow twitched.

What was so interesting about her?

Was Obsidian actually a slow acting disease?!

Before her thoughts could go even wilder, Aiz nodded slowly and picked up Lili's practice weapon.

"I do not use staffs of any sorts, but I can tell you what I see Finn doing in the dungeon," she explained in a calm tone and the Pallum nodded.

Made sense. There was a reason she was called the Sword Princess.

Anyway, Aiz began to explain to her how Finn's fighting style functions. Though it was a rather slow process, considering she often paused and needed to think hard on how to describe it or remember stuff.

Actually, it was rather awkward. As if she did it the first time.

Lili couldn't help but feel confused, suppressing the urge to raise an eyebrow. A small suspicion began to bloom in her head.  
Anyway, the Sword Princess explained how Finn made use of his small body to deny the enemy more spots to hit and be unpredictable. Considering how few Pallum were front fighters, not many could handle it. Using the eyesight the Pallum naturally had on top of his experience, the man was always a step ahead as he read his opponent as they were confused.

It was...rather complex, hearing all the detailed scenarios. It didn't go over her head, but it would be hard to pull off.

Like jamming the spear into the ground and bend it down with the small body so that the head would be in the enemy's face.

Or jabbing after the head and just spin slightly to slap the enemy in the face if they succeeded to doge.

Still, to make use of one's height to confuse the enemy…

Lili couldn't help but giggle.

That was so cool and useful.

Because of that, she had a grin on her face as she held her staff above her head, facing Aiz who casually held it to her right side.

Just when Lili was about to step forward, ready to spar, the Sword Princess tilted her head at the Pallum and raised her voice all of a sudden.

"How long have you been going to the dungeon?"

Caught off guard, the student stood up straight, staff in right hand, and scratched her right cheek.

"Err...since I was old enough to walk, I guess." She paused and bit her lip awkwardly. "Soma family, by the way."

"Ah." Aiz blinked and tilted her head, expression impressed. "You started sooner than me. Amazing."

From the emotionless tone she had, Lili could have easily surmised that it sounded like sarcasm.

But her eyes didn't seem to have any ill intent, so she casually shrugged.

"Not really. I used to be a supporter until recently."

Somehow admitting that didn't make her that uncomfortable anymore. Lili let out a small "huh".

Good to know.

"What changed?" Aiz asked, ignoring her little comment.

"I guess...I got lucky. That teacher found me," the Pallum replied and giggled a bit embarrassed. To her surprise, her sparring partner shook her head and averted her eyes.

"No, I mean..." She paused and took a deep breath, before looking up with a serious expression. "What made you try to become stronger?"

Lili blinked at the deep question and crossed her arms, her forehead wrinkling in thought.

"I guess...I just wanna be free," Lili said slowly and cleared her throat awkwardly.

Aiz tilted her head, face in a child like expression.

"Free?"

The girl sighed.

Gods, the Sword Princess had a real puppy expression. Who could say no to that?

Besides, she did it with Obsidian too and didn't have much issue with that.

"I...didn't have much choice in the past. My path was always decided by others." She snorted and smiled to the ground. "So being able to go into the dungeon and prove myself...defeat my enemies instead of being beaten down...I guess it's my way to show myself that I'm free. That I remain free."

The two remained in silence and Lili blushed a bit as she processed what she just said.

Now that she was not running on high emotions, saying it out loud again was making her feel more ashamed than she expected.

That she told that a complete stranger made it worse.

"I see," Aiz said after a while, face back to neutral.

Lili raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do _you_ have a reason?" She asked slowly, not very comfortable of asking that to a high class adventurer. Still, conversations went both ways.

"Yes," the blonde replied, body suddenly stiff.

The Pallum winced at that reaction.

Okay, apparently too private.

"Let's begin," Aiz announced abruptly, bringing up her weapon.

As Lili did the same, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at her.

Yikes, the rumors weren't kidding about the Sword Princess being unapproachable.

Though something felt off…

Like she was embarrassed.

Lili was experienced with people whose expressions she couldn't read easily. Obsidian's bandages were a major hindrance, even if he emote clear enough. The many times he did try to hide something however made her rather observant for the little cues.

Hold on.

The suspicion from before began to bloom in her head.

Was...Aiz Wallenstein sh-

Her thoughts were cut off as a sword began to imbed itself in her face in an eye blink.

The last thing Lili could think of before she flew off was one simple thing:

All those beatings by Obsidian actually made her keep her consciousness.

Which was not a good thing because when she crashed against the wall, she could feel everything flare up with pain after a loud crack sounded in the air.

Groaning in agony, she doubled over and held her right side of her face.

"...Sorry?" She heard Aiz say a shocked tone and Lili slowly raised her right arm, making a thumbs up.

"I'm...fine..." She managed to grunt out, face against the ground, before her arm fell back.

"Maybe I should teach Aiz how to hold back first," Finn said in an awkward tone, confirming Lili's suspicion and the girl let out another pained groan as a sign of gratitude.

At least this would be a good replacement for Obsidian's training sessions.

As the Sword Princess helped her up, apologizing furiously, the Pallum couldn't help but wonder where the hell he was.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Noble Heart**

Riveria Ljos Alf was a busy woman. It came with being an executive of one of the biggest families in Orario.

Because of that, she had to develop great patience and self control. Considering her upbringing, she could say she was one of the most self controlled beings in this city.

Patient with her students, self control with her goddess antics…

Those two traits were rather important in one of the most bothersome activities known to mortals.

Paperwork.

Sitting in her office, she was the only executive available to handle this. Gareth had a free day and Finn went out shopping with Tione and Aiz. Lady Loki was nowhere to be found, a common thing, so the high elf was the only one left.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, frowning deeply.

Not that she was mad. The adventurer recognized that sometimes the burden was put on one single individual and there were days were others carried the work while she had free time.

Because of that, she would normally do the paper work without much complaint nor distractions.

Normally.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Her eyebrow twitched and she exhaled slowly.

However, today her patience and self control were put on a test.

Because a certain someone was lying on the ground in front of her work desk, eating very crumbly bread as he turned a page in a book. Then he rested his head on his forearms again, not moving at all like a corpse.

A frustrated sigh escaped her and she quickly focused back on the documents, not wanting to see the words on the book.

The bandaged man didn't seem to care for her growing irritation, instead letting out a small snort. Riveria just knew he tried to upset her enough so that she would give in.

He was slowly succeeding.

Reading the book she didn't even finish yet, disrespectfully lying on the floor, the crumbles on his bandages, all those piled up in a stack of annoyance inside the elf.

Riveria took another deep breath, trying to calm down.

No, she would not give in now.

She managed to get this far with ignoring him, she could do it for the rest of the day. He was only a mild annoyance and Riveria would not give him the satisfaction of-

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Okay, she tried and that was all her pride could demand from her.

The adventurer did not slam her pen on her table with seething rage. Not at all.

With the man jumping a bit and looking up from his position, Riveria sent a flat glare at him.

"Noir. Why are you still here?" She asked in forced politeness, trying to reign in her anger.

The attempt almost failed when the man merely raised an eyebrow at her, not bothering to stand up as he finished his bread in one gulp.

That only irritated her even more.

He was doing it on purpose then!

"So you are willing to listen to me now," he asked dryly and the elf rolled her eyes.

"What choice do I have? You are very distracting," she countered and crossed her arms with disapproval.

For some reason however, Obsidian stood up and sat in a cross position, tilting his head at her with a skeptical look.

"I sure hope you mean the bread eating and me lying on the ground, else I need to question your taste," he said in a flat tone and Riveria narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Of course I mean that. What else-"

She cut herself off and her eyes widened as she looked at Obsidian, who tilted his head in confusion.

That little-

Riveria flushed a bit and was about to tell him he was way too hide-

She stopped herself again and bit her lip with frustration, leaning back in her chair.

She couldn't insult his appearance.

He already did that himself.

That clever bastard! Why did he always had to do that?!

Now he was staring at her like she was insane.

Rubbing her forehead, she glanced at him with one open eye, as he sat there patiently, book closed.

"Why me?" She muttered and gave Obsidian a one eyed glare.

To her surprise the man stood up and sat down on the chair opposite to her. He crossed his arms on the table and had a sincere look in his eyes.

"Look, I know I shouldn't have just barged in like this..." He scratched the back of his head and bowed slightly. "But I really need your advice. Please."

The elf blinked in surprise, straightening up.

Normally Obsidian was incredible quiet, always trying to sound as monotone as possible or he was very sarcastic.

Him begging, for lack of a better word...got her attention.

"Ask your question and I may reply," she offered him in a serious tone, clasping her hands together.

The bandaged man leaned back on his chair and looked around for a bit, rubbing his eyes nervously.

In the end, he let out a sigh.

"Can you tell me what a rookie adventurer should look out for? And the monsters in the dungeon?" He asked in a quiet tone.

Riveria tilted her head with narrowed eyes.

"Do you not know it yourself?"

The man froze and the elf sighed.

He had a blessing. She saw him enough times to see it with ease. She heard of his feats of speed and endurance by barely taking any stops before he took in a student.

Which meant he had to be in the dungeon a few times. At least in the Upper Floors.

"Memory is rather fuzzy," he said slowly, clearly uncomfortable. Then he shook his head, before looking up with a smile. "Besides, you are the veteran. The best mage in Orario and with that one of the best of the best. A book would be nothing compared to you."

He was trying to divert her attention from his secret with compliments.

The elf was willing to humor him. Not because the flattery actually worked.

Riveria blushed slightly and closed her eyes with a huff.

Okay, it worked a bit, but that was aside the point.

"V-very well. Since you took such a long way for my help, I would be amiss to deny it."

She grit her teeth at her little stutter, but else tried to maintain the air of casualness around her.

After taking a deep breath and relaxing a bit, she began to elaborate on the many dangers beginners tend to face or forget.

Monster traits and pathways of the first floors, general advice of beginners mistakes, such things were stuffed into a very compact lecture.

To her surprise, he easily managed to keep up, jotting down quick notes on a note book in rapid speed, as if he was used to something like this.

Still, there was one thing that bothered her as she observed the man furiously write down notes.

She paused, making him look up in confusion. Riveria then crossed her arms at him with a frown.

"I did some research into your student." She pointed at the list Obsidian wrote. "As a supporter, she should know all about the things I just told you. At least most of it."

The man put the pen down and moved his right hand as if he would pull back his hair, letting out a deep sigh as he sat limply on the chair.

"Yeah, I know...Just...want to make sure. Double check. Get to know what she is getting herself into..." He rolled his eyes and twirled his right hand a little. "Also, being a supporter and being an adventurer are two different things. Knowledge is different from practice." A snort escaped him and he pointed at himself. "Besides, I need to uphold my image as a teacher. How is she supposed to be confident if..."

As he trailed off, Riveria's eyes widened in shock.

This was new. Something had to happen recently to make him look that...drained. Fragile.

"You have doubts about yourself," she stated in disbelief and the man shrugged with a wry smile.

"A bit." He lowered his head, smile gone, and sighed. "I mean, I train her, buy her potions and prepared better equipment, but...is that enough?"

The adventurer couldn't help but look at him with compassion.

She knew this scenario all too well.

Like a parent worrying about his child, feeling that no matter what they do, it's never enough. The constant fear of something going wrong and the guilt following that fear. Guilt of what could have been.

This went way beyond a simple teacher student relationship.

He cared a lot about the Pallum, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

It was...commendable, in her eyes.

It felt familiar.

Which was why she was confused.

She could feel it. The power inside of him, barely contained and begging to be unleashed.

Yet he denied it.

Because he was afraid.

Afraid of what?

In the back of her head, something stirred, but the elf couldn't quite grasp it. A distant memory that would just not manifest.

She stopped following that line of thought. Instead, she took a deep breath, and crossed her arms as she leaned back.

Emotional comfort was not her strength. Instead, she relied on logic to...cheer the man up, so to say.

"As far as I can see, you are doing a good enough job to prepare her. You make sure not to destroy her self worth, but also make sure she doesn't get arrogant. You prepared armor and potions. That is the best you can do for now." She glanced at him and saw him straightening his back a bit more.

She hid a smile.

That was better.

Quickly, she carried on, a stern expression on her face.

"Though I do recommend finding her a party. People who go in solo are often the ones who die young."

Obsidian averted his eyes and scratched his cheek.

"I don't know any adventurers who want to party up."

The elf closed her eyes and huffed at that surrendering tone.

"You just have to try harder then. There are always people looking for help."

"Like the Soma family?" The man asked dryly and Riveria opened one eye, raising an eyebrow at the same time.

"I do not know much about them, but judging from your reaction they are rather unpleasant?" When he nodded, she let out a sigh and folded her hands on the table. "Very well, I will look around if I have the free time."

It wasn't like she was going to help any serious competition.

It was one girl and a man who as far as she knew didn't belong to any local family. No real harm done there.

Though she did put emphasis on free time.

If the bandaged one noticed, he didn't show it as he softly smiled at her.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

The elf awkwardly cleared her throat, covering her blush with her hand.

Gods, she was not used to him being so polite, grateful and...vulnerable at the same time.

He should be a lot more wary and careful with the executive of a family like Loki's.

It was Loki after all, trickster incarnate.

Riveria felt very off guard to have such...trust put into her.

"Anything else?" The adventurer asked curtly after her expression went back to normal. Taking her pen up, she focused back on the documents in front of her.

He would probably say no and lea-

"You need help?" Obsidian asked and pointed at the stacks.

Riveria stopped.

Or he was going to do that.

"Excuse me?" She asked dumbfounded, looking up.

The man shrugged and twirled his own pen in his finger, focused on the motions.

"I did my fair share of paperwork and I don't really have any jobs open for now." He stopped the twirling and glanced at her. "I could at least sort it, make small summary notes, that kinda stuff. You know, as thanks."

The woman narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

There wasn't a hint of lying in his face.

She glanced at the documents.

It was still a long way until she was finished.

And there wasn't any secretive or too private data on those…

"Take the small pile over there. Less damage when something goes wrong," she said curtly, pointing at the stack, fully aware of the insult in the subtext.

To her dissatisfaction, the bait was not taken and the man simply took a paper with a hum.

"Smart," he muttered and Riveria couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Honestly, he did not know how to properly do elven banter. At least not consciously.

Obsidian Noir had his burst of elven brilliance sometimes, but they were not...constant. Didn't last very long.

Either he just stopped all of a sudden, insulted himself and did her part of the talk or he just did an Aiz and didn't see the underlying message or insult.

To be honest, it was infuriating to predict him.

Because of that...

Riveria enjoyed his presence.

It was something she knew ever since she met him, as cliché as it sounded.

Entering that book store, it was rather hard to miss the shadiest, darkest being in the store, on top of all the stares it gathered.

Still, it wasn't those things that got her attention.

He felt similar to Aiz. Not in terms of personality or something. But it was...the aura, for lack of a better word. Not exactly the same, but enough to make her curious.

She exchanged some greetings with him and noticed he was reading the book she waited weeks for. The shop keeper tried to persuade him to give her the book.

Instead of complying out of respect, he told them in a flat tone that he was going to buy this book and that she had to pay rent if she wanted to read it.

The verbal exchange they had was a highlight of that month. A lot of stress relief and verbal exercise. It seemed Obsidian enjoyed it as well, in some regard, because he gave her the book for free after buying it.

Ever since then, she gained...a friend. Perhaps it was a bit too strong of a word, but she could talk with him and feel at ease.

Well, most of the times, when he didn't use his weird humor.

That Obsidian did not care about her social standing. He treated her like a normal woman purchasing literature and kept on treating her like that.

It was a refreshing. Too many elves and even other people from other races were lowering themselves when they saw her and it made her uncomfortable.

People like him were the reason she left home. So that she could stand next to others, instead of always being hold high on a pedestal.

Riveria leaned her cheek on her right hand as she looked at Obsidian, taking a small break from the paper work. The man was focused on sorting the papers, hands moving very fast.

She wondered how he looked like underneath all these bandages. The gravely voice made it hard to imagine his appearance.

Her guess was human or an elf raised by humans. Though the former was more likely, considering the bandages would be squeezing elf ears too much to bear.

He probably had pale skin, depending on how long he was wearing those bandages.

The woman frowned a bit.

Not really enough to have a mental picture, especially considering the coat covered up his body form.

Her musings were cut off when he glanced up and narrowed his eyes at her staring.

She froze at the eye contact, eyes wide.

"I know I am so ugly one cannot possibly look away, but I expected more from your work focus," he said with disapproval, gesturing at the documents, before focusing back on his work.

The woman blushed and cleared her throat awkwardly, raising her head before she took her pen back in hand.

How long was she staring at him?

Riveria let out a sigh and went back on signing the papers, face set in a flushed frown.

Normally she would love to snark back, in order to get the ball rolling. Being embarrassed a bit wouldn't stop her usually.

But how could she, if the ball was destroyed instantly?

It's almost like someone told her a joke and then immediately explained it.

Really, how could she follow up on such words if he did the insulting part himself?

Still, it was better than constant dead silence. Sure, her pride was a bit hurt by what just happened.

But Riveria was sure she would have many more chances to redeem herself.

Mentally, she counted down as she saw him move on to a specific stack.

"You really gotta work on that money management if Tione can get away with buying one million valis worth of chocolate for one guy. Here I thought you guys were smart," Obsidian said dryly as expected, raising one document up against the light to read it better.

Riveria smirked as the man stared at the paper with incredulity.

Oh, she could tell this was going to be amusing.

With that in mind, she opened her mouth to retort.


	4. Chapter 4

**Start Up 4.1**

"Wanna learn a spell?

Lili looked up from her martial arts book, blinking in confusion. At the moment, she was sitting in their home early in the morning, right after breakfast.

Hell, she didn't even change clothes from her pajamas yet.

Her teacher stared at her with expectation, arms crossed on the table as he leaned forward.

He also seemed awfully happy this morning.

It kinda freaked her out.

Yesterday she was training with Aiz for a while, thrown around like a ragdoll as expected.

At least she figured out how to not leave cracks when she shot Lili against walls.

Nevertheless, it was rather fun and a learning experience.

The Pallum wasn't sure if they were ever going to repeat it though, considering how busy the Loki family was. Still, one could hope.

She got home shortly after the sun set...only to find the house empty.

Which was unusual.

Then hours went by and Lili became very worried.

Turned out she didn't need to, because just when the Pallum was about to leave her room, Obsidian finally arrived, heading straight for his own room.

He came home late. Like, close to midnight late.

The man looked rather happy for some reason, despite looking tired, so Lili went back to bed, glad that he was alright.

However, now that it was morning, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him.

What did he do last night? And what made him offer something like a spell so casually?

The man cleared his throat, leaning back on his chair when she didn't let up with her questioning stare.

"As...an apology for losing my temper and hiding so much. And so that you have better odds," he said with hesitation, scratching his cheek a bit.

Her suspicious didn't change as she tilted her head, crossing her arms with a huff.

"I thought magic can only be learned by a grimoire or naturally with the Falna?"

The man in response threw his thumb over his right shoulder, pointing at his back with a lazy smirk.

"Different one, remember? Anyone can use it, if they have the skill. Of course for normal mortals it's rather difficult, but for someone like you? Easy. Technically." He paused and chuckled awkwardly. "Good that you have a blessing, else I wouldn't have any idea how to do this."

Honestly, this seemed a bit weird. He could have taught her sooner. Maybe he evaluated her and came to the conclusion that she was ready?

Well, whatever the reason was, her excitement showed on her face as she grinned and stood up, hand on the table as she leaned forward.

"Sure. Only idiots would say no to free magic."

Obsidian snorted in dry amusement, standing up as well.

"You would be surprised how smart it sometimes is to do just that."

"What?" Lili asked flatly as the man picked up his chair.

"Books," he replied in a bored tone and gestured to the table. "Anywho, let's make some room first."

With that, they moved the table and the chairs away, so that a nice free space was in the dining area.

Dressed in proper clothing (white shirt and brown shorts), Lili sat on the ground, opposite to Obsidian, both on their knees.

Having her attention, the man coughed in his fist and nodded at her as he extended his right palm at her.

"I call it 'Killer Current'," he announced in a slow tone and she could tell he was embarrassed.

He fidgeted a bit more when she sent him a flat look.

"Really?" Lili asked dryly and he averted his eyes.

"I was young," he muttered and the Pallum clicked her tongue.

Damn, what wouldn't she give to see him blush.

Then her eyes widened and she blinked.

"Young? Wait, how old are you?" She asked with curiosity, tilting her head.

Normally she knew that asking one's age was kinda rude, but she needed to know, now that the chance offered itself.

To her surprise, Obsidian casually shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.  
"Twenty eight."

Lili let out an impressed grunt.

That…was younger than she expected.

Well, the more you know, she thought.

She froze when her teacher narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms.

"How old did you think I was?" He questioned in a tone that suggested he was a bit peeved. Lili let out a nervous giggle and stared anywhere but at his face.

"At least...forty?" She answered nervously, but truthfully. It wasn't like it was such a big deal...right?

Sadly, it was a big deal.

The man blankly stared at her with an empty expression, before lowering his head and letting out an extremely long sigh. The student covered her mouth as her mouth corners twitched.

"Yeah, whatever..." He responded in a quiet tone, making quite clearly it was not just "whatever" to him.

The Pallum held her breath in order to suppress a giggle.

She didn't expect her teacher to have a complex about his age.

It was almost cute.

Disappointing for her, he got over it quite quickly after shaking his head and taking a deep breath.

"Anywho, the chant is 'Static'. Short, simple, fast," he rattled off, twirling his hand casually with each adjective.

Immediately, the girl raised her hand with a serious expression.

When the man dryly raised an eyebrow at her, Lili lowered her hand.

"Why not call it Static in the first place?" She asked, suppressing a smirk from his twitching eye.

Obsidian took a deep breath and shook his head in a surrendering manner.  
"Ask my past self, I don't know. I was eighteen or something," he muttered annoyed and gave her a pointed look.

Quickly, she wiped her smile off her face when he raised his hand at her.

"Static."

Almost bored, he used his chant. An instance later and Lili flinched away as his hand crackled with lightning.

Even though she expected it, it was still a sight to behold as electricity ran all over his hand like a light show. Chaotically, it moved around, yet the girl could see some structure.

The mere fact it was concentrated on this one hand alone and never extended out of the limb spoke of the control her teacher had.

Lili knew lightning spells, but they were known to be hard to use, even with a shaping staff. Unrelenting, it would carve its way until it hit a target and would only stop then.

Her eyes moved away from his hand when he lowered it and she sharpened her ears.

"Gives your hands or rather your weapons lightning properties. Good to shock people with and gives you more punch in your attacks. Besides, it's rather cheap in terms of Mind consumption," he explained calmly and Lili couldn't help but nod excitedly.

Lighting properties to weapons, or rather Liberty?

This was the kind of thing she could use. It would give her a way to test if magic would give her "charges" for Infinite Shift as well.

"Alright, you know what it does now and the chant." He took a deep breath and folded his hands. "Now to the more...complicated part."

The Pallum nodded with determination and the man put his hand into his coat.

Taking something out, he threw it at Lili, who caught it. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was.

Liberty.

Looking up, the man smirked at her.

"Dagger form. Don't want to fry your hands because it's your first time," he said in a challenging tone and Lili grinned herself, before spinning the stick into the dagger, gripping it tightly in the reverse form.

Being ready now, the girl nodded at her teacher. He then pointed at his chest.

"Imagine the divinity in your body. For me, it's like a small light in my chest." His right finger ran from there, over his arm to his right hand. "Now, I want you to...extend it through your arms and to the weapon. Focus."

The student took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

It was a bit abstract and different from what she heard grimoires were meant to work, but it was no problem to her.

She did have magic after all and knew what she was looking for.

The power that always enveloped her and changed her appearance when she used Cinder Ella.

She searched for the image she first saw when she learned her magic. The thing she yearned for when she was still a supporter. The thing she always looked at with pleading eyes.

The dark, night sky. At the moment, it was starless.

Lili clenched her eyes as she focused even more intently.

Stars started to appear, one by one, each a sign of hope and dreams for her.

Then, she made some them move. Gather into one pile.

Following that, she moved them like her teacher recommended. Like a stream, the stars moved from her "sky" into the "ground", her chest to her arms respectively.

Once they passed through her arms, she pressed them into the weapon and she could instantly feel the small drain.

Opening her eyes, she couldn't help but gasp.

The golden markings on Liberty glowed brightly, brimming with energy.

With wide eyes, Lili stared at it, the symbol of her divinity filling the weapon.

Then, it flickered and the Pallum yelped, before refocusing on maintaining the flow of her energy.

Blushing at her mistake, she looked up, only to see her teacher smile at her proudly.

"Good job, took me ages to figure that one out. Keep up practicing and it will be as easy as walking to get the power flowing."

Her blush intensified at his happy compliments, but sobered up when he took a deep breath and clapped his hands together.

"Anyway, next step. I'll get a bit philosophical now..." He stood up and began to pace around, raising his right index finger. "First, what is lightning?

She was about to reply when he began to pace around again. Seeing that this was going to be a lecture now, she stayed quiet and concentrated intently on his words.

"Lightning is similar to fire." Hr raised both of his hands in front of himself. "Both are energy created by actions." He lowered the left hand. "But unlike fire, lightning is hard to contain. Near impossible, even. It's fast, it comes out of nowhere and above all, it is free."

He glanced at her and Lili knew he picked those words on purpose.

Nevertheless, it did its job because it struck a cord in her, as her mind was filled with the image of lightning breaking out of a small box, unlike the fire next to it.

Obsidian crossed his arms behind his back and turned to her, coming to a stop.

"Using lightning, is the same as trying to reach Heaven. To imitate their judging force. To become more than mortal. Progress, evolution," he explained in a stern tone and nodded at her. "Now I want you to focus on your desires." His finger raised, he pointed at her with narrowed eyes. "What do you want, what do you yearn for over everything else?"

His eyes stared at her knowingly and Lili couldn't help but snort dryly.

Of course he knew.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her wish to be better, stronger, more free than the old Liliruca Arde.

"Concentrate them in that light of your chest. Put it all in there. It is fuel," she heard her teacher say behind her, hands on her shoulder like a guide.

The desires flew up into the sky, making them light up brightly in the night.

"Now, you need to shape it in your hands and from there into the weapon. The lightning. Wild, yet focused. A divine power that strikes down any foe."

Static connected the stars as she took a bundle again and directed them into the weapon, the river flowing.

This time, it was harder to control the substance at the end of the river, meaning her weapon.

"A testament of your will to fly. BE lightning," he continued on, voice growing quieter as he squeezed reassuringly "Unstoppable, it will reach anything. It is energy incarnate and you are a part of it now. Feel it flow through you, like a rampaging river. Direct it. See the path of your victory. Tame the beast..." His voice was barely a whisper against her ears now, but it was the more hypnotizing because of it. "Now, unleash that power. It's yours to control."

The ending "lake" became pure thunder. It tried to thrash away, break away from the container that is Liberty, to go out of control.

Lili would rather die than lose control ever again.

Taking in a deep breath, she forced it down, condensed the energy into her weapon.

Then she heard a crackle and she opened her eyes.

A wide smile broke out on her face, as she saw the static covering the dagger, jumping on it like a stone skipped over water.

"I did it!" She yelled and threw her arms in the air.

Immediately, she noticed her mistake as the lightning tried to escape. Just as she was about to attempt controlling it, Obsidian's right hand shot out. He grabbed the blade and like snuffing a candle, the lightning ceased and the river inside Lili was cut off.

The girl lowered her head in shame, then carefully looked up.

Her shame got replaced by confusion when she saw that the dagger cut into the bandages, but not into his now visible, pale hand. She even saw minor burn marks, but the skin had no such damage.

Man, he had to be really tough, Lili thought impressed.

Shaking his hand a bit and readjusting his bandages to cover the skin, the man nodded at her with a wide smile. He let out an exhausted breath as he moved to her right and leaned against the wall.

"Looks like the two things are compatible. I had a theory, but nice that it worked out."

The Pallum froze as she wiped off the sweat off her forehead. Then, almost mechanically turned her head to her side.

"You weren't sure?" Agitated, she pointed at herself in disbelief. "I could have died!?"

Immediately, he held his hands up.

"Hey, be glad I guided you. I shocked myself very badly the first few times. Blew myself up too," he said in a defensive tone and Lili shook her head, face judging with a half open mouth.

That was not a no to the death danger!

Still, she exhaled and tried to calm down before taking a chair and sitting down on it.

She learned new magic, so she forgave him for this one.

Her teacher snapped his fingers at her just as she leaned back. Glancing at him, he raised his right hand from his crossed arms, muttering "Static", and activating the spell.

"Before I forget...Static is very versatile. Don't forget that. This is just its first form." He looked away from his hand and narrowed his eyes at her after deactivating it again. "Though be careful. Don't generate the lightning inside your body or anything complicated like that. It would be suicidal if you aren't ready."

The girl nodded. Made sense, considering she could shape her Divinity consciously like that, it wouldn't be too farfetched to make more esoteric stuff with it.

Like shooting it out or even make make shift weapons.

Lili put a lid on that excitement and coughed awkwardly when she noticed his flat stare.

Right, teacher's orders. No experimenting. She decided to take it to heart, if he was that serious about it.

"Now, it's time for you to get out," he announced abruptly and the student's head snapped up at him.

To her relief, he didn't look like he was going to kick her out, judging from his easy going body language.

He walked into his room, only to come out with a small box in hand.

Putting in on the table they shoved aside, he opened it and gestured to the content with a twirl.

Standing up, the girl made her way to the box. Looking inside, her eyes widened.

It was the definition of an adventurer starter pack.

Maps, potions, bandages and pouches for those items were inside.

But what caught her eye were others items.

One was a set of silver armor. Chest piece, boots and arm guards that were designed to not limit any movements. Simple looking, but Lili could see it would be effective.

The other was a black trench coat. But upon examining it more closely, she realized it was made of Salamander wool, a spirit made cloth that had high resistance against things like fire.

The last item that got her attention was a simple piece of paper.

On it, messy letters formed words that made her breath stop for a moment.

Potential party members.

Underneath were a list of names, with level and "job" focus they had, inside and outside the dungeon.

Looking up with wide eyes she pointed at it, not wanting to get her hopes too high.

A soft expression underneath bandages met her eyes and he nodded.

"I would like if you found a party first," he said, averting his eyes and sighed. Then he glanced at he with a smirk. "But I guess the first floors should be safe for now."

Immediately, she hugged him and he yelped in surprise. As she buried her face into his body, tears in her eyes, Obsidian awkwardly petted her head. Giggling she looked up and grinned at him.

"Thanks, teacher."

He let out a snort as he ruffled her hair.

"Thank me by staying alive."

* * *

 **Start Up 4.2**

Looking on the list, Lili hummed in thought as she walked through the streets of Orario. Donning her new equipment, she felt like a proper adventurer and couldn't help but grin all the time.

Her clothes fit like a glove on a hand, especially...the gloves on her hands.

Even she had to cringe at those thoughts. Still, the equipment felt like a second skin to her. She did a test jog and it didn't slow her down at all.

Not to mention she looked awesome with a black trench coat!

Lili froze at the thought, her smile vanishing as she stood still in the middle of a market.

Wait, was this how it went with Obsidian? Starting with believing a black coat was cool and then descended into the madness of bandages?

The Pallum shuddered at the thought and tried to rub her forearms. Instead of flesh however, she scratched on solid steel.  
Looking down, she saw her arm guards on the trench coat and she let out a small "oh".

Right, she had armor. Damn, it really felt like a second skin. She forgot she actually wore it.

Anyway, she stared at the list in her left hand, forehead wrinkling in thought.

It wasn't like she was stopping any traffic, considering the street was wide. Besides, she didn't stand right in the middle of it. At the wall, near a corner to an alley, there was no way anyone would barge into her.

With that in mind, the girl noticed that the list was very long. So long, that Lili was not sure where to start. It wasn't like the names were all part of the same family or even in the same area. Their regular locations were all over the place and it would be a guaranteed manhunt to find them.

Honestly, Lili wanted to be in the dungeon a lot more than do that.

Still, her teacher wished for her to be safe and a party was the way to do. She could keep control of her excitement a bit longer. In the end, the man financed everything for her, so it would be ungrateful not to follow his single wish.

Speaking of financing, the Pallum put her free hand into the pouch on her right hip and pulled out a vial with a purple substance.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Now that she thought about it. Lili had no idea where he got these potions from.

Usually, shops had their signature vials, especially those from families. Special markings, specific forms…

This one was poured into the most basic vial she could think of. Clear glass, thin, as if it was given out in the same glass it was created.

Perhaps he had a big stash of these hidden in the house somewhere? He used to be...well, the equivalent of an adventurer in his homeland, so it wouldn't be too crazy to imagine he stored items of his past.

The Pallum nodded.

Yeah, actually that made a lot of sense.

She stopped and narrowed her eyes.

Wait.

Depending on how long Obsidian had been in Orario…

Her face contorted in disgust.

Hopefully the potion would not give her a disease or something.

"Hey there, Lili!"

Blinking, the girl looked around at the sound of the unknown, female voice. It sounded rather young, so the Pallum was sure she did not know that voice.

A clearing of a throat and Lili turned her head to the right. To her surprise, a girl her height stood there, leaning against the wall with her left arm. Her breath was heavy and sweat ran down from her forehead, also wetting her short, brown hair. Under her other arm, she was carrying some sort of leather armor, pressed against her white dress.

Overall, a plain looking girl Lili did not know at all.

So how did she know her name?

The Pallum blinked, items still in hand, getting a bad feeling in her chest.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!"

A loud, rage filled male voice echoed through the streets and Lili looked around in confusion.

Immediately, from her eye corners, she saw the small girl giggle a bit.

Then, before she could ask, the girl moved past her quickly and shoved her a bit forward in the way of the alley. Lili stumbled a bit, noticing how weak the shove was as she held a tight grip on her items.

"You're welcome," she could hear the girl say, followed by a giggle and quick steps of escape.

She was about to turn around with a frown after gaining her balance again, when the male voice from before yelled out loud in shock.

It was a lot closer than before.

"Oh shit!"

That was the last thing she remembered before something rammed into her with about a quarter of the force Aiz used in training.

Immediately, she tried to throw the items in her hand away so that she wouldn't get injured by them.

The moment they left her hands, the weight of another person smashed her against the ground, back first and she let out a pained "oomph".

Opening her eyes, she looked to where she believed the potion and the list went.

The sight made her groan and she turned to the sky with closed eyes.

"Come on..." She muttered in frustration.

The vial broke right on top of the list. It was completely soaked with the purple substance.

At least she knew how frail those potions were, as much as it comforted her. Considering the list was gone and she didn't remember everything, it was a minor comfort.

A breath of relief escaped her when the weight moved itself away from her chest.

"Crap, I'm so sorry..." The male voice muttered in an embarrassed tone and Lili opened her eyes.

She saw the back of a black kimono and a blue scarf around the neck that belonged to the red, short haired head.

Her eyes widened when she recognized that description.

The man frantically looked around after standing up, before clicking his tongue in irritation and throwing his arms in the air.

"Damn it, she got away!" He yelled with a snarl, before crossing his arms with a grumble. After that, the man turned around, a concerned look on his face as he extended his right hand to her. "You okay?"

Seeing his face, she now knew who he was.

Welf Crozzo.

Blacksmith with a famous blood lineage, from the Hephaestus Family. Level 1.

He was on the list of people who searched for a party.

And also the man who made her armor.

What a coincidence, Lili thought with a blank expression.

With a sigh, she accepted the gesture and pulled herself up, before brushing herself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she waved him off and huffed, before looking past him. Then she glanced at him and pointed into the direction she believed the girl ran off. "You need any help chasing her down?"

The blacksmith let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Nah, not worth it..." He muttered, before a snort escaped him, a wry smile on his face. "Wouldn't have sold anyway. Guess I should be happy at least one person wants my products."

The Pallum winced at his surrendering tone, but decided not to say anything. Why push it if he didn't want it?

Anyway, his smile became more honest when he turned to her, pointing his thumb at himself.

"You eaten yet? It's on me," he offered in a casual tone.

Immediately, Lili nodded with a serious expression, making him chuckle lightly.

She was never one to say no to free food.

Because of that, the two of them sat on a bench in the park of Orario, close to Babel, with warm bread in hand.

There was an awkward silence between them as they munched on their bread. It was Welf who first swallowed down his first and cleared his throat awkwardly, making eye contact with Lili.

"Soooo..." Welf said slowly, scratching the back of his head as he bit his lip. "Was that stuff expensive?"

"The potion, probably. It was a gift, but I think it was meant to heal body and mind at the same time," Lili answered truthfully, finishing her bread and clapping her hands off.

The man lowered his head in a depressing manner. She couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Great, so very expensive..." A dry snort escaped him and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe I should have bought you something more fancy."

"I prefer cash, really," Lili said coyly and Welf rolled his eyes.

"Great, one of those girls," he muttered, making the Pallum laugh lightly. Then he made a head motion at her as he leaned back on the bench. "New adventurer?"

"Supporter since I could walk. Decided on a...career change," Lili replied, a bit embarrassed by the topic and scratched her cheek. The blacksmith whistled impressed.

"Wow, that's a long time." He smirked at her and crossed his arms. "Guess you would know the dungeon like the back of your hand?"

The girl puffed her chest up with pride, hands on her hips.

"Until the middle floors, yes." Then she relaxed against the bench and sighed. "I was looking for some party members. That list had some...candidates."

"Crap, and I ruined it..." The man muttered with a flinch, before looking up again and extending his right hand. "By the way...Welf Crozzo. Prefer to be called Welf. Pleasure to meet you."

"Liliruca Arde. Lili is fine," she introduced herself back and shook his hand. Letting it go, she crossed her arms and tilted her head. "So...You know that girl who ran off?"

At her words, the blacksmith's head hung low and he let out a deep, frustrated groan.

"No idea. She just chatted me up, complimented by drive and work. Tricked me with those pretty words before she snatched one of my sets and ran off." Running his hand over his hair, he let out a dry snort. "For such a small gal, she was really fit. Those little legs were pretty fast too."

"I don't think size matters that much," Lili argued with a flat expression and the man blinked at that.

Then realization set in as he took a closer look at her and he coughed into his fist, averting his eyes.

"Oh. Uhm, of course. Sorry."

At his awkward reply, the girl couldn't keep up the pretense and laughed loudly, holding her stomach as she bend over.

Calming down, she had to suppress the urge to laugh again at his dirty glare and raised her right hand in apology.

"Sorry, sorry." She took in a deep breath and crossed her legs casually. "Don't worry. I know that we Pallum don't have the best...condition. Finn Deimne is the exception, not the rule."

The man raised his eyebrow at her, crossing his arms as he leaned back.

"You wanna become like him?" He asked with curiosity and Lili nodded without thinking too much.

"At least reach his level, yeah. Not sure about the whole reputation stuff though." She let out a snort and waved her hand dismissively. "I would probably called the female Braver or something like that."

Welf clapped his hands in response to her surprise and a wry smirk was on his face.

"Preach it," he declared and took in a sharp breath as he shook his head. "Real annoying how people love to slap labels because of how famous others are.

Lili blinked at that.

Quite the extreme...reaction.

Looked like he had a small complex about his bloodline.

Interesting. It explained why she never heard of him a lot.

A Crozzo who didn't make magic swords didn't use their full potential, according to others. Thus, they were worthless.

Well, better cheer him up.

She folded her hands and stretched her arms forward, closing her eyes as she did so. Following that, she opened her right eye and glanced at him.

"Speaking of famous, I'm surprised you aren't. I mean..." She pointed at her chest, then on her arm guards with a smile. "With that armor? If the rest is like this, it's a shame you aren't well known."

The man stared at her for a moment, incomprehension in his eyes.

But after that, his eyes widened when he looked at the armor in question for a moment and snapped his fingers at her.

"You're that Pallum that creepy dude asked it for, right? Didn't know you were related to him," he said amazed, making an "oh" sound afterwards, before he laughed in a happy manner.

Lili bit her lip.

On the one hand, the mood was lifted.

On the other hand...

It was tailor made?

Well, it made sense, considering how well it fit her.

However…

Lili shuddered and hugged herself. She ignored the confused stare of Welf.

How the hell did he know her sizes?!

Wait, he was buying her clothes since day one that fit perfectly…

Immediately, the girl slapped her cheeks and forcefully shook her head.

She was not going to follow that line of thought.

Anyway, Lili was surprised at this line of coincidences.

She turned to the blacksmith, fake smile in place and tilted her head in a cute manner.

Judging from his dry expression, it didn't work.

"Teacher can be weird, yes," the Pallum replied with a nervous chuckle, hoping that the blacksmith wouldn't push the matter. To her relief, he didn't and instead chuckled as he stared at the sky, hands stretched out on the bench.  
"You tell me, I thought a monster managed to sneak out of the dungeon and entered my shop."

Lili stifled a giggle at that, covering her mouth with her knuckle.

Yeah, she had the same impression when she first met Obsidian.

The man then turned to her and grinned widely.

"Still, thanks for the compliment! Been waiting for someone to appreciate my work!" He exclaimed in an excited tone and winked at her.

Lili rolled her eyes at that lame gesture, but then bit her lip nervously. Welf noticed and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

She took a deep breath.

Now or never.

She turned to him completely, setting both of her legs down on the ground and folded her hands on her lap.

"Look, I know that it might be a bit sudden but...you were on the list and I thought, maybe...?" She trailed off nervously and shook with her left leg in order to get some of that stress out of her system.

Welf looked at her with a serious expression as he rubbed his chin.

"Hm...You do look like someone who appreciates my work and I need to level up myself to get Blacksmith..." He trailed off, letting her stir for a moment before he crossed his arms, eyes closed as he was deep in thought. "You also look like a fun gal as well."

Lili leaned forward, a grin on her face.

Time to add some more fuel into the fire.

"I need someone who maintains my armor too. Maybe even a special contract?" She whispered in a baiting manner. When he opened his eyes and glanced at her, her smirk grew wider. "I could be the first of many. Giving you the reputation you deserve.

She could see how the offer was tempting for him in his eyes, as his humming intensified.

Crossing his arms, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"No weapons?" He asked with suspicion and his expression grew darker. "No magic swords?"

Immediately, the Pallum shook her head.

"Don't think I even need them," she admitted truthfully and shrugged. That surprised the man, who blinked at her.

"Really?" He asked dumbfounded and Lili nodded casually.

"Yeah, got a nice weapon and magic for that."

The blacksmith ran his eyes over her body quickly, from top to bottom and tilted his head.

"I don't see a weapon on you," he stated with suspicion and Lili put her hand into the coat.

"I got this," she said with a smirk, Liberty in hand.

At first, Welf looked disappointed.

Then his eyes widened comically when she twirled it in her hand and with each complete spin, changed its form.

Four spins later, it was back in its smallest form and she raised her eyebrow with expectation.

At first, the blacksmith stared at her weapon like a frozen statue.

Lili waited.  
And waited.

Her smile wavered.

Now she became concerned.

But just when she was about to poke him with her stick, Welf jumped up, hands curled up in fists and he leaned closely over Liberty.

"OOOOOOOHHHH!"

His scream made the girl flinch back and flush in embarrassment when she looked around, seeing how they were making a scene.

But the blacksmith did not care and grabbed her hands, eyes sparkling with childish excitement.

"This is amazing!" He squealed and checked it over from all angles, forcefully moving her hands around. His head snapped up and Lili leaned away at his wide, open mouthed smile. "Who made this weapon and when can I meet that person?! It's a master piece!"

"I...could ask my teacher?" She said with hesitation, weirded out by this and the man nodded with appreciation.  
"Please do!" His eyes turned back to Liberty and he ran his fingers across the steel. "Look at this material! I don't even know what it's made of, but it looks like Desperate that the Sword Princess carries around! I only had a glimpse, but I can tell from the aura!"

Okay, now Lili regretted her decision to show her weapon. Aside from making a commotion, the girl was very concerned at the heavy breath of Welf.

"Don't get me to the magic that was used to combine three weapons! Must be a very high Mystery rank on top of Blacksmith! This is like a dream! Unbelievable!" He rattled off in quick succession. Lili on the other hand had enough and snapped her fingers in front of him. His attention on her now, as if he forgot she existed, the girl gave him a dry look.

"Could you please give it back before you drool all over it?" She asked with disapproval and Welf blinked at her for a moment.

Then he backed off, clearing his throat awkwardly and sat back on the bench.

"Sorry. I'm usually not like this. Just...well, that's an entirely new thing. Blacksmith in me couldn't help it," he explained, scratching the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. He took a deep breath and his expression turned more serious. "Seriously though, ask your teacher. I would be in your debt."

"There is one thing you can do for me," Lili offered innocently, idly pretending to check her finger nails.

From her eye corners, she saw him roll his eyes, before standing up.

"Well, I guess I still need to make up for running into you and breaking that potion," he said with a smirk and crossed his arms, pride smile on his face. "Guess that settles it! I'll team up with you, as an adventurer and a blacksmith!"

Lili stood up as well and mirrored his expression as she extended her hand.

"To our future partnership," she announced and the two of them shook on it.

After letting go, her smile became a bit more dirty as she shrugged.

"Well, more like me being your income, considering you don't look like you sell a lot."

The Pallum was very aware of the irony in that statement, considering her previous life.

Welf bristled at her.

"I'm not poor!" He yelled and Lili laughed loudly as she began to walk off.

"I'm not, really!" He yelled after her again before he jogged next to her.

That only set her off and she could barely control herself.

* * *

 **Start Up 4.3**

If one asked a random citizen what one of the most exhausting things an adventurer had to face, they would say monsters or the dungeon.

They would be wrong.

The greatest enemy was something many overlooked, but existed since the dawn of civilization.

Bureaucracy.

The guild regulated the entirety of Orario. Which meant that adventurers would need to report to them and register themselves if they want to go into the dungeon without facing any repercussions.

Which family are you from, what level, contracts with other adventurers, not to mention reading all the rules.

All of that meant paperwork.

Lots and lots of paperwork.

But if it were only the paper work, it wouldn't have been that exhausting.

No, the worst part was the bickering. Or rather…

Negotiation.

After entering the building, Lili and Welf made a bee line to her adviser, Mavis. Apparently Welf didn't have one. Considering he didn't go into the dungeon that often and was more busy making weapons and armor, that made sense to her.

Anyway, long story short, the two of them fought for every single valis and Mavis had to suffer since she had to handle the documents.

The Pallum never had been rich, and still wasn't. Because of that, a certain mindset developed in her:

Always make the most of things. Especially if it's money.

Sadly, she was not the only one with that kind of mindset, because Welf was not one to be scammed. Apparently he was kicked out of his family's home and mostly had to handle himself, which led to some money issues.

The arguments became more and more ridiculous, like using her sex, race, height, hell at one point one of them used smell as a reason to get the higher part.

By the end of it, the guild adviser, normally sweet and polite, was very pissed off.

As in, she kicked them out after making it fifty fifty. With seething rage and gritted teeth, Mavis told them that unless they figured out their balance themselves, she would never help them with paperwork ever again.

Lili and Welf apologized and even gave her a tip when they finally finished, which only somewhat calmed her down.

At the moment, the two of them sat on one of the many benches inside the guild, exhausted as hell.

Lili rested her head on her arms as they were on the table and Welf leaned his head back, staring against the ceiling.

The two of them let out a deep sigh.

"Man, you are a real hard negotiator, girl," the blacksmith muttered. The Pallum looked up and saw that his head still leaned against the seat. Still, he grinned at her from the awkward position and Lili couldn't help but giggle as well, as her chin rested on her arms.

"I didn't know Blacksmiths could haggle like that..."

The two of them raised their fists at the same time and bumped them.

"Good game."

"Good game."

With that done, the two adventurers focused back on relaxing and resting their throats, content with the silence between them.

Well, that was what Lili planned, if it weren't for a familiar, cheery female voice calling out to her.

"Oh, Lili! What a surprise!"

Raising her body, she grinned when she saw the blonde ponytail waving around like a dog's tail. She raised her hand, mimicking the excited waving.

"Lisa! Hi!" She greeted her friend, folding her hands as she tilted her head pleasantly.

The daughter of the shop New Age put her hands on the bench and leaned forward, a wide grin on her face.

To be honest, the student did not expect this friendship with the girl from Boundary, but what did her teacher say when she admitted that relationship?

"Shit happens. So don't break your head over it."

That could be applied to a lot in her life, so Lili never thought too much about it.

Anyway, regularly going to New Age to buy stuff, do side jobs for them and even sell something to them gave her lots of excuses to interact with the "heir" of the shop.

And Lisa grew on her.

At first, Lili kept a healthy distance between them. Purely professional, she stuck to short small talk and tried to ignore any attempts of friendship. Not because of any hard feelings, but because the Pallum believed she shouldn't have so many friendships at the places she worked at. It would be bad for business.

Of course, Lili failed horribly.

Always cheerful and excited, Lisa managed to worm herself into Lili's heart, even making her tell stories about the dungeon, especially the monsters.

The blonde had a very weird fascination about monsters, writing down everything the Pallum said and even finding out weak points before Lili spoke them out loud. Probably because Boundary had its fair share of monsters, if that was true.

Lili wondered if that...blood thirst of hers was common on that land as well, considering how casual she was when she wondered how to kill them the most spectacular way.

Either way, Lisa managed to make her laugh every time they met, whether by her positive outlook or sometimes dramatic demeanor. Even if it was sometimes a bit morbid, but Lili wasn't bothered by that. She wasn't that squeamish.

The shop assistant always saw the best in the Pallum, constantly praising her for almost anything. She even comforted her after Lili's...fallout with Obsidian, telling her that anybody would have jumped at the chance to prove themselves after hearing such a status boost.

Maybe it was because she was...normal, that she liked Lisa. Something separated from her dark memories of the dungeon and everything related to it.

Anyway, long story short, she enjoyed the blonde's presence and they were close enough to be called friends.

Lili paused at that thought and scratched her chin.

Lately there had been a lot of blondes in her life that were acquaintances or friends.

"You know each other?" A male voice asked with curiosity.

The girls turned to Welf, remembering he was still there. He raised an eyebrow at their reaction.

Right, that was rude.

The Pallum cleared her throat awkwardly, while Lisa giggled with a sheepish expression, scratching her cheek.

"I visit her family's store a couple of times. We're friends," Lili explained and pointed between the two of them.

"Where are my manners, ignoring you like this!" Lisa said in exaggerated shock, gasping as she looked like she was struck. Then, she made a deep bow, her voice deep, pretending to be male. "May I ask your name?"

The blacksmith stared at her for a moment before letting out a bark of laughter, slapping his knee a few times. Wiping a tear of his right eye, he shook his head with amusement and extended his hand.

"It's Welf Crozzo, Liz." As they shook on it, he raised an eyebrow. "Can I call you Liz?"

The blonde nodded with enthusiasm, letting go off his hand and clapped her hands together.

"Sure! I love nick names! Welfie!"

An eyebrow twitch and a wavering smile.

"Wel?"

The twitching intensified and the girl tilted her head, disappointment on her face.

"Welf?"

The twitching stopped and the man gave her a wry smile.

"Yeah, that's good."

"Puh, how boring," Lisa pouted and let out a deep sigh, before sitting down on the seat next to Welf and opposite to Lili.

Deciding to step in before Welf would have a stroke with the eye twitching, Lili crossed her arms and addressed the other girl with calm curiosity.

"So, what are you doing here?"

Lisa puffed her rather moderate chest out with pride, eyes closed.

"Hm, hm! A good question!" She opened one eye and smirked. "Guess what?"

"What?" Lili asked with amusement after rolling her eyes.

"Boom!" The shop girl yelled out, extending her hand, which held something.

Welf and Lili tilted their heads at it.

"Nice paper?" The blacksmith said in an unsure tone and Lisa let out a snort.

"Read it, dummy."

The student narrowed her eyes at the document.

Then her eyes widened and turned to the blonde.

"Supporter?" She asked and looked at her with concern. "Isn't that dangerous for someone like you?"

"Well, that someone is blessed like you are," Lisa announced proudly, crossing her arms with a smirk.

"What? Since when?" The Pallum asked in an incredulous tone, leaning back in shock.

With that, the shop girl stood up, walked to the right end of the table and chuckled dramatically. She then looked to her left, at Welf, then to her right, to Lili.

"If you insist, I shall tell you the tell of my legend!"

She shot her right hand out, as if presenting something in front of her.

"There I was, manning the great shop New Age, protecting its goods and giving other people happiness and joy!"

Welf and Lili gave each other an amused look, but then tried to make themselves small when they noticed the stares they were getting.

Not that Lisa cared, as she moved her hand, pointing to the ground with a wide smile.

"One of these people was a little girl. Almost didn't saw her and she was so cute!" She cooed as she held her own cheeks. Then, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, nodding with approval.

"She bought some quality bread from my humble shop and we talked about the beautiful weather!"

Her eyes ripped open and she made a dramatic gasp, hands held up like a surrendering form.

"But then, she said something far more interesting to me!"

She leaned forward, a mischievous grin directed at the both of them.

"There existed lone goddess who didn't have a family and was rather poor. I was told she lived in a derelict church," the shop girl whispered.

Then, she straightened her back and pointed to the ceiling, her left hand on her hip.

"Naturally, my sense told me to follow that lead!"

Lisa paused, before slowly spreading her arms as if moving away some curtains in her way.

"And there she was!" She hissed in excitement. "The goddess that I searched for so long! Someone who would take me as their first Blessed child and lead me down the path of awesomeness!"

Welf raised his arm, a smirk in place. Lisa sent him a dirty look, but nodded with her head at him.

"Doesn't sound like she could afford to be picky," the man said and Lili had to suppress a giggle at the blunt statement.

Lisa bristled at the comment and put both of her hands on her hips with a huff.

"Not the only reason I accepted it!" Her mood took a sharp turn and the smile was back in place as she sat down on the chair behind her, letting out a satisfied sigh. "She was the definition of warmth and hearth! Well, considering who she was, it was only natural. She didn't even demanded anything from me aside from one thing!"

Another pause and she stared at Welf and Lili with expectation. The latter rolled her eyes after the former made a head motion to her, and put her chin on her hand with a small smile.

"And that would be?" She asked, faking interest.

To her surprise, Lisa's expression became softer and she stared to the ground as she crossed her legs.

"That I would never leave her alone," she said quietly, her smile turning a bit sad.

The two adventurers flinched at those words, and Lili averted her eyes.

That took a serious turn in atmosphere and the Pallum felt a bit bad of kinda making fun of her story.

Not to mention those words hit her deeper than she expected.

Loneliness was a major part of her life after all.

Before she could think further about it however, Lisa shook her head and her natural happy energy radiated from her as she put her right hand on her chest and shot her left hand out to the side like an entertainer.

"Naturally, the prince in me could not say no to such a lonely damsel, so I accepted!"

Then, an exaggerated frown appeared on her face as she crossed her arms yet again.

"Still, I couldn't just make her work for money while I would go into the dungeon in order to afford things." She looked up and snapped her fingers with a smirk. "But, a brilliant solution came to me!"

Proudly, she puffed her chest out and hummed happily with closed eyes.

"New Age could use the extra pair of hands, so I decided to make it the main front of our family's income aside from the dungeon, with my goddess being the poster girl! Good for business and she would be in a safe environment I could trust!"

She took a deep breath, rubbing her throat a bit.

"To make a long story short and boring..." She began to say, then pointed her thumb at herself, her voice rising in volume. "Lisa Snowfield, first child of the Hestia Family, at your service!"

Her two main spectators clapped their hands with an amazed "ooohhh".

Huh, so that was her last name, Lili thought.

Before she could give her congratulations however, Welf stopped with a frown and scratched his chin.

"Wait, I know that name..." He muttered. Then his eyes widened with recognition and he pointed at Lisa. "I heard she was freeloading off Lady Hephaestus until a few months ago."

"Everyone has a bad start," the shop girl said with a shrug. However, Lili frowned as the words stirred something in her memory.

"I think I once delivered something to her, early in my...career," the Pallum mused with crossed arms.

Then shock filled her face.

Abandoned church, only one, twintail hair person, looked lonely, and now that she thought about it, radiated divine power...

"Wow, how did I miss she was a goddess?" Lili said in a disappointed tone, leaning back against the bench.

"Maybe you were focused? I heard that Lord Noir could be a slave driver," Lisa suggested with a raised finger and Lili shrugged.

She was focused on doing a good job, so maybe that was the reason.

"Who is Lord Noir?" Welf's confused voice shook Lili out of her thoughts. She waved him of casually.  
"Creepy mummy dude," she explained in a tired tone and the blacksmith nodded.

"Huh." Then his eyes widened and he rubbed his forehead. "Oh crap, he's a noble."

The student scratched her cheek in thought.

Hm, considering his backstory, he would be a noble.

Helping to create civilization was a noble thing, right?

In the end, Lili casually shrugged.

"Yup."

"You aren't bothered by it?" Welf asked in an incredulous tone and the Pallum in turn gave him a flat look.

"I will always see the guy who makes childish noises when he finds a creative way to punch me in the face." A dry snort escaped her. "Not really possible to do the respect thing now."

"Point taken," Welf conceded, small amusement on his face, while Lisa bit her lip uncomfortably.

Lili raised an eyebrow at her.

Did the shop daughter really respect Obsidian that much?

It wouldn't be too farfetched, but it was weird for her.

Time to distract her.

"Anyway...I'm happy for you," the Pallum said with a smile, nodding with approval. Welf on the other hand raised his thumb at her with a smirk.

"Yeah, congrats."

Lisa blinked for a moment, then blushed slightly. She covered her face with a nervous grin.

"Daw, stop it you two!" She said loudly, causing the other two to chuckle at her reaction.

Calming down after a while, Welf leaned forward, folding his hands on the table.

"So, you are a total newbie then?"

The girl in question pouted in response, hands on hips.

"Hey, I had my fair share of danger in my home land. I know how to be careful." Then Lisa shrugged. "Besides, I'll be a supporter for now, so I let others take the brunt of incoming doom."

"And we needed a pack mule. How convenient," the blacksmith said in amusement.

Lili threw him a glare, making him clear his throat awkwardly and avert his eyes. Sighing, the student turned to her friend with a strained smile.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle-"

"Done."

Her instant answer made the two of them blink. Lisa tilted her head with crossed arms.

"What, you seriously expect I wouldn't team up with a buddy and the student of Lord Noir?" She asked in an incredulous tone, then paused before turning to the blacksmith. "And Welf."

"Don't add me like an after thought! I demand equality!" The man in question yelled, slamming his hands on the table.

The girls giggled at his reaction, making the male blush and sit back on his seat with a grumble.

"Anyway, how about we get that paperwork done if you are willing to take me!" Lisa exclaimed with excitement, but then looked at them in confusion when their heads hit the table at the same time.

"Ah, crap..." Lili muttered and raised her head, chin on the wood. "We need to redefine our own contracts as well."

"We just finished them..." Welf whined and grabbed his hair in agitation. "Damn it!"

"How about thirty to two thirty five?" The two adventurers looked up at Lisa, who raised her finger with an innocent expression. "I'm a supporter so I know I should get less than you."

The sentence made the Pallum frown and she raised herself.

"Dunno about that..."

Lisa rolled her eyes and gave the two of them a flat expression.

"Unless you want to do the math every time of thirty point three three three whatever, it's as fair as it can get. Besides, I have my parents giving me some pocket change if need to." Seeing their hesitation, the supporter let out a groan and pointed at herself with a frown. "Look, if you want to, I can handle the paperwork. I did it often enough for New Age."

Silence filled the air between them. Lili and Welf bit their lip.

The two of them really wanted to fight for more money for themselves.

Lili glanced at Welf, who glanced back at her.

They solemnly nodded at the same time.

But they couldn't, not with that sweet girl grinning at them brightly, happy at having found a solution.

Also, they didn't want Mavis to be more...creative with her anger if they argued again.

In the end, they also didn't want to fill out documents again.

"Can't argue with that," Welf replied with a sigh and Lili nodded.

"Sure, why not."

"Great!" Lisa yelled, clapping her hands with excitement. "This is going to be awesome, I can feel it!"

With that, the girl dashed off to the advisers. Welf chuckled at that and stood up, telling Lili he needed to inform his goddess about the recent developments.

Saying goodbye to him, Lili was alone on the bench.

The Pallum rested her hand on her right hand, a small smile in place.

Maybe this could work out.

* * *

 **Start Up 4.4**

While Lisa did the paperwork, Lili decided to follow Welf's example and go back home, in order to inform her teacher about her plans.

Halfway to her home, the Pallum realized with embarrassment that there was the possibility the man wasn't even there. He did have his own jobs.

That worry turned out to be for nothing, since she entered the building and saw the bandaged man inside.

Doing chores.

With a white apron and a broom currently.

The two of them stared at each other in surprise.

Lili never saw him doing this kind of work, not while she lived with him, so that was a new thing to see.

A new thing she could have lived without.

Still, the Pallum got over it rather quickly and explained to him the situation. About having found a party and going into the dungeon.

Obsidian's expression, despite being hidden behind bandages, was hilarious. The wide open mouth and narrowed eyes, remaining like that for a solid minute. The following, blank "okay" made her laugh so hard on the ground that she was afraid she would pass out and miss her appointment.

Nevertheless, once she calmed down, she noticed how happy he appeared and congratulated her.

Though he did added that she had to be careful and gave her a new potion after hearing that one broke.

For some reason however, the man stared at her with a weird expression when Lili told him how the incident with Welf occurred. Still, considering he didn't comment on it and the Pallum was short on time, he let her leave without a big fuss.

Anyway, long story short, after dealing with all the stuff they needed to handle, Welf and Lisa doing something similar like her, the trio stood in front of the entrance to the dungeon, looking at each other with expectation.

"You got everything ready?" Lili decided to break the silence with crossed arms. Welf smirked and tapped his shoulder with his giant broadsword.

"Made this baby myself, so I'm ready," he announced proudly and the girls whistled impressed.

The Pallum may not have been a blacksmith, but she could see how it was good quality. Nothing like Liberty, but her weapon was bullshit, Obsidian said as much.

Then the two adventurers turned to the supporter to Lili's left, who reached for her right hip and raised the item in question, not looking fazed at all by the weight of the bag on her.

"Got this shield," she said casually and the student couldn't help but frown.

Compared to the complexity of Liberty or the size of Welf's weapon, it was...really plain.

It was a round, grey shield that looked like steel, barely able to cover Lisa's upper body. Considering that Lisa wasn't very tall for a human, half a head smaller than Welf, it would be better used as a side equipment with another weapon.  
"Looks rather lame," Welf announced his and Lili's thoughts out loud, the former having the same frown as the latter.

The wielder of the "weapon" shrugged as she wiggled with it after equipping it on her right arm.

"Eh, it's a mass produced model for normal citizens. This one is strong enough and can return to my hand thanks to the runes."

She showed the backside of it and indeed, there were some weird golden markings on it, similar to those on Liberty. Then she turned it back again and carefully ran her finger near the edge of the shield.

"It has a bladed edge so I can throw it when I need to," she said with a small grin, before letting her arm loosely hang next to her.

Welf whistled impressed, managing to keep his inner...excitement in bay unlike with Liberty, Lili observed dryly.

"Man, those blacksmiths of yours must be crazy."

Lisa giggled at his words and shrugged casually.

"It's the magic that's important. Considering we have the best sorcerer in the world, it's easy to get these in Boundary." She shook her head with a sigh. "Besides, it's nothing to Vibranium steel."

"Vibranium steel?" The Pallum asked with an intrigued tone and Welf leaned forward, holding his breath in anticipation.

Lisa grinned at them.

"Yup. Absorbs any force and the wielder won't notice anything to a certain degree. That force can be thrown back on the enemy at any time. As far as I'm concerned, only the toughest monsters can break it. Mandatory equipment on the front lines." She twirled her left hand a bit. "Not the hardest metal, but certainly handy."

That...sounded ridiculous, Lili thought with wide eyes.

Absorbing force would make any person into a good front defender. That person would need less strength or endurance, since the shield did most of the work.

Perfect for unblessed soldiers.

And if Boundary had frequent attacks…

Whoever created it was a literal godsend. And Lili suspected it was Obsidian's companion, the sorcerer specifically.

Still, if Lili was amazed, Welf was living in a dream.

With clouded eyes, he began to mutter in a rapid pace, like cursing someone. Lili caught enough that she had a rough idea what he was talking about.

Ideas.

Lots and lots of ideas for a blacksmith.

It was almost creepy with how much he came up with in such a short time.

"What is the hardest metal?" He asked after managing to get a hold of himself, almost no breath in his voice as he tried his best not to kidnap Lisa on the spot to interrogate.

If the supporter noticed anything, she didn't show it as she hummed in thought, trying to remember the specifics. Then she snapped her fingers with a wide smile.

"It's called True Adamantium, I believe. Completely indestructible and never changes form, so it will stay forever sharp for example." Her smile fell and she awkwardly scratched her cheek. "But it's still just in the development phase and not many have it."

This time, the Pallum couldn't stop her jaw from dropping and her upper body hung forward in disbelief. Welf mimicked her movements, almost dropping his sword.

Lili heard of Desperate, the indestructible weapon of Aiz Wallenstein, who still needed to sharpen it though.

The mere thought of such a fantastic material...

"Sounds like something out of a fairy tale," Welf spoke out her thoughts with a faint voice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before frantically shaking it, eyes focused again. "Anyway...Boundary?" He asked in an exhausted tone, even though they hadn't entered the place yet.

Before Lisa could respond, the Pallum decided to step him, dry expression in place.

"Far north. Cold. Monster infested. Almost no adventurers," she counted off with a blank look and Welf winced at that.

"Yikes."

"One reason my family moved over here. At least here, the monsters are all stuck in one place," the shop girl replied with a small giggle and the other two couldn't help but laugh a bit as well.

"You don't happen to export, right?" Welf asked with a smirk after they calmed down, but deflated when Lisa gave him an apologizing smile.

"Sorry. Not really viable. It's a state secret for one, Boundary needs all it can and the distance is so far, we only 'trade' in the loosest sense. Stuff that can be easily recreated in case they get...lost..." She trailed off, her eyes clouding in memories before she shuddered.

The two adventurers decided not to pry. Both of them heard of stories of how unforgiving the sea could be and from Lisa's tone, the distance did not make it any easier.

The shop girl quickly shook her head and smiled again, raising her right arm with the shield.

"Anywho, I can throw this when you need help."

Lili raised an eyebrow at that, as well as Welf.

"Wouldn't that be counterproductive for using a shield? What if you get attacked?" The Pallum asked and Lisa gave her a flat look.

"Hey, I support, you do the heavy lifting. If I die, I can blame you and haunt you forever," she said offhandedly, pointing at the two of them.

Lili blinked, as did Welf.

"Good for you," the latter said in an uncertain tone, sharing a confused glance with Lili.

The student shrugged.

Apparently it was a Boundary thing to have this sort of negative humor.

Lisa laughed lightly at their reactions and rolled her shield arm with a wide grin.

"I think we're ready. Let's go! First ten floors, here we come!"

"Whoa there, let's not get crazy," Welf countered, stopping Lisa with a hand on her shoulder and frowning at her. "First four, at most. I don't wanna pay fines and I wanna see how we mix."

"Killjoy," the supporter pouted and Lili giggled at the reaction.

With that done, they descended into the dungeon.

The familiar stone paths in sight, the feeling of freedom filled the Pallum's chest again and she started to fidget a bit in anticipation.

"Man, I get the shivers just entering this place...You ever felt like this before?" Lisa whispered, looking around with awe as she walked behind Lili.

Welf, to Lili's left, smirked at the supporter, before turning back to the front.

"Yup. Hell of a rush."

The Pallum stayed silent at those words, instead trying to maintain a neutral expression.

But her hardened grip on her dagger would show her dark thoughts.

Lili couldn't remember her first time in the dungeon, but she was certain she didn't feel the same excitement they did.

At least not for long.

Shaking her head, she focused on walking. But while she did so, she noticed something.

No monsters were attacking them.

It was rather simple, the reason for that.

They were being taken out by other adventurers.

Swords, spears, whatever weapon was present pierced the flesh of the low level monsters, thus leaving none to actually attack those that were just passing by.

"Is it always that crowded?" Lisa whispered, ducking away from some flying blood with minor curiosity.

Welf in response shrugged.

"Often enough on the upper floors. Level one adventurers aren't exactly rare and they are limited to the first twelve floors if they are solo." He pointed down with his left finger. "The lower we go, it should get easier to move around, so let's just walk through first."

"Sticking together and chill, got it," Lisa nodded and they silently moved to the second floor.

The group did some small talk, but nothing worth noting, as they didn't really had anything to do. Sometimes a monster did get to them, but they were easily killed with one strike and barely stopped their steady pace.

In the second floor however, it was different.

Unlike the first floor, the second floor was mostly devoid of adventurers. Lili didn't know why, but sometimes some floors were left empty by adventurers why others would be filled as much as possible.

Maybe schedules aligned with other schedules or maybe it was just coincidence.

Either way, the trio had this floor pretty much for themselves, with a few exceptions here and there.

The team stopped for a moment and the supporter took in a deep breath, hands on her hips before sighing in relief.

"Ah, much better. I can already feel the difference!" She announced loudly and Welf said something in reply.

But Lili tuned it out, as she saw the monsters spawn out of the walls in relatively big number.

Big enough for her to make full use of Infinite Shift.

Damn it, she couldn't wait anymore.

A giddy grin appeared on Lili's face.

Her dagger transformed into the naginata form and she exploded from the ground.

"Hey, wait-"

She paid no heed to whatever voice called to her.

Two goblins. Hit right one with blade and swing it into another one. First died, other one injured. Switch to dagger. Stab into eye before it can recover. Move on to new monsters spawning.

Hammer, jump and smash kobold. Use momentum to jump again and stomp on another kobold. Quickly use dagger, slash throat and roll forward. Naginata, impale goblin just as he tried to leave the wall.

The power began to grow inside her and with that her eagerness.

Lili was confident enough that she could try something new. Her grin grew wider as she kept moving forward.

"Static!" She shouted and the lightning filled Liberty.

Another goblin. Repeat first sequence. Slash into side, fry it a bit, throw it against wall and kill it.

Lili's eyes widened for a moment, as she kicked to her side and transformed her weapon into a dagger to hunt the kobold down and stab its throat, the blood sizzling due to the energy.

She felt her skill work, even though she already did that sequence before without magic.

So magic counted as a separate attack.

That was very good to know. It would mean her attack selection had doubled per weapon.

Static still active, she spun her weapon around above her, the blade rotating like a wind mill. With her small height, it didn't miss the monsters trying to jump her and instead got ripped apart by the lightning infused metal.

Further ahead, she saw more enemies appear and she didn't wait until she lunged forward with her dagger, similar to a goblin leap.

Ramming the dagger into the head, she made a few spin kicks, before finishing up with the hammer, all with lightning.

While she ran after the next small patch of enemies, ignoring the complains of other adventurers, the girl noticed something.

She didn't feel winded at all.

Which meant...

Her Mind reserves rose as well with Infinite Shift.

It took a lot out of Lili not to stop and simply gape at the realization.

That meant she technically had unlimited use of Static with its low cost, as long as she kept up her combos.

Her glee changed to disappointed when she felt something hit her left side. Clicking her tongue, she felt the power leaving her. It also broke her concentration, stopping Static to work.

She turned around, backhanded the goblin in question and let out her frustration by repeatedly hammering the monster into the ground until it was a fine paste. Pity about the monster crystal, but at the moment the Pallum didn't care.

Hm. Looked like the costs during Infinite Shift did not carry over if it was broken.

Gods, that skill was ridiculous once she got the hang of it.

Suddenly, something whizzed past her and hit the kobold directly into the throat. Digging into the flesh, it clawed at its bleeding throat in futility, before turning into ashes as it died.

Lili saw that it was Lisa's shield that fell down to the ground.

She turned around with wide eyes, to see a goblin leaping after her.

Just when it began to jump however, it got cleaved in half by a familiar broadsword.

The Pallum blinked as she saw the heaving forms of Welf and Lisa in front of her. The latter summoned back her shield as if it was a bird to her arm and then supporting herself on her legs as she wiped off her sweat.

"Lili, my girl...you...you gotta slow down...Phew," she rasped out and forced herself to stand up properly.

Lili saw how big the bag on Lisa was, which meant she had collected all the enemies she was killing.

Her guilt only grew more when she faced Welf's glare as he rested his blade on his shoulder.

"We just had to rush after you for an entire floor..." He muttered, then gestured with his free left hand around the area. "What's the big deal?"

The Pallum eyes widened as she looked around.

Indeed, she was in the third floor. The hallways were a bit wider and she could see it was getting a bit more complex.

How fast did she go?

Lili blushed in embarrassment and scratched her cheek as she averted her eyes.

"It's just...well, I saw monsters and I went after them...and then after the next…" She muttered weakly, ashamed at her lack of self control.

To her surprise, Welf gave her an understanding smile, his anger seemingly leaving him.

"Sounds like you got one hell of an adrenaline rush." He let out a sigh and shook his head, frown back in place. "But seriously, we're a team now. Leave some kills for us."

A team.

Working together with others and trust them.

Lili never had that. This thought led to another thought.

She didn't want that either, originally.

The realization made her feel even more guilty.

The reason was simple.

Liliruca Arde was a bitter girl. She was always left behind, insulted, treated like garbage.

So was it so weird that she didn't want to rely on others? Fight on her own?

It was childish, yes, but Lili couldn't help it. So long without help and now she had that?

It was an insult to her entire life thus far and to herself that it only happened now. That the gods were only now benevolent enough to help her.

The worse was...she was trying to throw it away.

It disgusted her.

Lili lowered her head and bit her lip.

"I'm really sorry...I'm used to...relying on myself," she muttered.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see the blacksmith grin at her.

"Nah, I gotcha." He pointed at himself. "This stuff really fills you with adrenaline. Just natural you wanna do more yourself."

The Pallum gave him a weak smile, but then yelped with Welf when something hit them. With wide eyes, she saw Lisa hugging them with a wide smirk.

"Yeah! I'm just collecting stuff and block attacks, maybe throw it, but even that makes me shiver!" She announced, giggling as she leaned into them.

Considering the weight on the supporter's back, it was hard not to lose her own balance.

A moment later, the trio stood in a triangle and Lili smiled at them.  
"Thanks." The Pallum giggled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head. "I'll try to tune it down."

To her surprise, Lisa pouted and moved her arms in a wide x.

"Hey hey, don't make it sound like we are holding you back!" She snapped her head to the man in the team and pointed at Lili accusingly. "Welf, she is challenging us!"

The blacksmith chuckled for a moment, before puffing his chest out with a grin.

"My pride as a man demands from me to answer to that challenge."  
"Arde, we will make sure to leave you in the dust in the future!" Lisa yelled in a challenging voice, but the smirk showed she wasn't really serious.

The student couldn't help but raise her eyebrow skeptically.

"You can try."

"Don't get cocky, brat!" Welf bristled at her and Lili couldn't help but laugh at that.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Hearth**

Heaving a sigh, the twin tailed girl put another crate away, wiping the sweat of her forehead after managing that feat.

Who knew books could be that heavy and in such a high demand?

Adjusting her black skirt she received as a gift, she sat down on one of the boxes and fanned her black blouse, covering her arms unlike her old outfit.

It was rather stuffy in the back of New Age, so it was warmer than it was supposed to be. Maybe she should open up a window or something.

At least the storage room was well lighted or else she would hit her head more times than she did already.

A door opened and she perked up, seeing the bald shop owner smiling at her, before making a bow.

"Thank you for your help again, Lady Hestia."

Softly, the goddess smiled at Gustav and shook her head.

"I already told you, you can call me Hestia," she chided halfheartedly, wiggling her right finger at him and the man gasped dramatically.

"I cannot possibly do that!" His expression turned more sincere when he folded his hands. "You have done so much for my daughter, it is only right I treat you the same way I treat other people I respect."

The deity sighed, crossing her arms and smiled at the man as she stood up.

"Can't talk you out of it, can I?" She asked and cheekily, the man smiled back.

"You cannot," he replied before clapping his hands. "Now, work should be done for today. Will you stay for dinner?"

Not missing a beat, the girl nodded with excitement, hands on her hips.

"Of course!" She looked around, her smile turning softer as she gestured to the room. "I'm just going to clean up a bit."

Gustav shook his head lightly.

"What a reliable goddess," he muttered to himself before closing the door.

Hestia giggled at those words and swiftly took a broom.

Gratitude was always something she appreciated. From someone she liked and was basically part of her family? It meant even more.

Sure, it was hard work sometimes, but if it helped then the goddess was happy to support her child's family.

Not to mention the clothes were in a much better condition then the...rags she used to wear.

People were making less fun of her now!

The goddess laugh trailed off before she hung her head low.

Maybe it was because she wasn't working at the front that often though...

With a sigh, she concentrated on wiping the floor. Left, right, left, right.

It was surprising how dirty it could get, considering only one person usually worked in the back. Though it made some sense, considering how narrow the space between the shelves and crates was.

Still, she managed to finish up while the sun was still up and opened the door, exiting to the hallway that connected the shop, the storage room and the actual home of the Snowfield family.

Just after closing the door, another door further ahead to the right opened. Hestia turned around and smiled brightly at the person entering.

Lisa waved at her excitingly, with a big pouch at her hip she didn't had before.

"Yellow, Milady!"

"Lisa!" Hestia clapped her hands together with delight and tilted. "Did you have fun?"

The supporter nodded with a wide grin as she but her backpack on the ground.

"Yup! Welf and Lili are awesome!" She put her shield down and posed, pretending to flex her muscles she did not have. "Totally fine too! Not even a scratch!"

The goddess giggled at her child's antics.

"That's great!" She said in an honest tone, before snapping her fingers as she remembered something. "Oh, dinner should be almost done."

"Awesome!" With sparkling eyes, Lisa leaned forward with expectation. "So you are staying?"

"Who says no to free food?" Hestia huffed, hands on her hip. The supporter laughed and dramatically bowed to the deity.

"Who indeed! Truly, you are my goddess!"

Playing it up as well, Hestia laughed in a proud tone, covering her mouth slightly as she leaned back.

"Truly, you are my child!" She announced and the two of them shared a giggle after letting the theatrics be.

With that done, Lisa went through the door opposite of the one she entered, on her way to her room to clean herself up. Hestia's eyes followed her back with warmth.

As ironically as it sounded, Hestia felt that Lisa's appearance was a gift from heaven.

Maybe one of her colleagues wanted to help her out from up there!

It had been relatively long since she left Hephaestus' care (read kicked out) and Hestia was rather miserable. Sure, she managed to keep herself fed with odd jobs here and there, but living alone in a church, barely able to cook proper meals was not how she imagined her stay in the mortal world to go.

Because of that, she was pleasantly surprised when someone visited her and decided to speak with her longer than just a few minutes at most.

Actually, Lisa almost stayed the entire day and actually brought gifts and food.

They immediately clicked. Both of them were joyful people and loved to interact with others. They told each others many stories, fictional or real.

By the end of the day then, Lisa asked to be part of the Hestia family.

And the goddess cried tears of joy.

Hestia blushed at the memories.

Not her finest moment, but it solidified her relationship with Lisa even more.

And with Lisa came her father, Gustav, the only other person living with the supporter.

Apparently her mother, Annabel, worked in the port city Melen, only rarely coming home to visit her child and husband. It made sense though, considering someone had to control and organize the export of Boundary, as little as it was.

Anyway, her father was a jolly figure just like her daughter. He was just more...old fashioned, calmer about it.

Not that Hestia had anything against that, considering he gave her a proper job, good clothes and food.

More than she ever asked for or felt like she deserved. Only after the two shop people told her that as a goddess related to New Age, she needed to maintain a good image, did she stop her objections.

Nevertheless, as happy as she was to have someone she blessed, Hestia's heart was always filled with worry. Considering it was the first day Lisa went into the dungeon, the worry doubled.

The fact that Gustav told her that they had their fair share of trouble in their homeland did not reassure her in the slightest.

However, Hestia was glad that Lisa found...comrades. It helped a bit to make her not worry too much.

Especially considering that one of them was the child of her friend.

What a coincidence.

The goddess didn't muse over it very long and soon found herself sitting at a table, stuffing herself with a delicious soup and bread, as Lisa recounted the events of what happened.

Gustav politely listened to her tales, but Hestia was sure he was as endeared by his daughter as the goddess was.

Like an innocent child, her voice was filled with amazement and wonder, as if she never left her own house.

"And that's why we cleared so much! Like, damn, that little Pallum sure goes wild," Lisa finished her tale, taking a deep breath and leaning back. By now, they all finished their dishes and were simply talking with each other as the food settled in.

Hestia did frown at the part where the Pallum apparently just up and left her teammates behind. But the goddess would let it slide this one. Excitement was something she could understand at least.

"Hm, the weapon must have been a good investment then," Gustav hummed, rubbing his chin and Hestia raised an eyebrow at that.

"Weapon?" She asked leaning forward and Lisa nodded with a grin.

"Oh yes. Boundary quality, requested by Lord Noir himself." The supporter let out a whistle as she crossed her arms behind her back. "She really put it to good use as well!"

The goddess nodded with a neutral expression.

Lord Noir.

His name was dropped many times in her interactions with the Snowfield clan.

The way they respected the man she only knew as a delivery boy...

She needed to know more.

"Well, I gotta get some shut eye," Lisa suddenly announced after a yawn and stretched her arms a bit.

"Better go to sleep then, young lady," her father said in a stern tone and his daughter grinned at him, waving him off.

"Sure thing, dad." She turned to her goddess and bowed like a butler, crossing her right arm. "Good night, milady! It's been a pleasure!"

"Sleep well!" Hestia shouted after her as Lisa made her way upstairs. But before she left the room completely, she snapped her fingers and turned around and pointed at Hestia.

"Oh, I had some ideas for an emblem, so please prepare lots of paint tomorrow!"

"I'll do that!" The goddess nodded with excitement.

With that said and done, she was alone with the shop keeper, who collected the plates.

"Is there anything else I can offer? Tea?" He asked over his shoulder as he began to clean them. Hestia shook her head.

"No, thank you. But I do have a question..." She trailed off, biting her lip. The man glanced at her with mild curiosity.

The goddess took a deep breath, a serious expression in place.

"Can you tell me a bit more about him? Obsidian Noir? Like, why is he here?"

For a moment, Gustav froze. Then he continued on, but more awkward then before. He cleared his throat before he turned around, drying his hands on a cloth.

"Well, how to explain this..." He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "Short version would be a mix of a mission and a vacation."

The woman tilted her head with a frown as she crossed her arms.

Those two words usually did not go together.

The man slowly nodded and sighed wearily.

"I'm just going to tell you what I gathered together from some rumors and his past...attitude," he said with hesitation, obviously uncomfortable of treating Obsidian with anything less than respect. Hestia nodded with understanding and the man weakly smiled at her, before he took a seat at the table.

"He was not...very happy, according to the rumors. It appears city management and all the responsibility...did not suit him," he recalled slowly with folded hands. "From what I could gather, he enjoyed his time as a simple...adventurer a lot more, as did he enjoy leading his troops against our enemies. The former more than the latter." The man sighed and lowered his head." And even the latter began to take its toll. Casualties are common at the front lines and he must have seen a lot. I would not blame him that he was not as content as his comrades."

The goddess leaned forward, resting her head on her right hand, frowning deeply.

Hestia was never someone who would say she enjoyed violence. She could somewhat understand why others would though and from what she understood about Gustav's words, it appeared Obsidian was a simple minded man. A man, who did not like responsibility and stepping out of his comfort zone.

Which led her thoughts to another topic.

Boundary.

Boundary sounded like a dangerous place, from what the goddess understood.

Hestia wasn't sure what to think of Boundary.

On the one hand, she pitied the people over there. Monster infested and outside Orario's influence, mortals had to fend for themselves and almost faced extinction without the intervention of another divine being.

Hestia felt a bit guilty for not going there in order to help.

By the end of the day, gods were selfish. They wanted to stay in the mortal world as long as possible.

Which meant avoiding danger, which Boundary represented.

Sure, one use of her Arcanum and even Hestia could clear the continent.

But then she would be sent back to Heaven. And as much as it pained her, she did not want to do that.

Without their godly powers, beings like herself would have a much harder time to make their home in Boundary, if they managed to stay safe for so long.

Because of those things, Hestia was in awe at how the people in Boundary managed to survive for so long and still survive with only four Blessed ones.

It was a representation of what the goddess loved about mortals.

Still, she wasn't here for Boundary specifically, but for one person. Therefore, she focused intensely on Gustav's words.

"Anyway, his comrades, appeared to notice his...deterioating state and decided to send him somewhere more similar to the 'good old times'," he explained, moving his fingers to emphasize his words and leaned back on his chair. "With the three of them, they could deal with most of the danger, so he was sent to Orario, both as a mission and as a vacation."

Hestia blinked.

Considering how harsh Boundary was supposed to be, that sounded...surprisingly selfless. It honestly warmed her heart that his friends cared so much for him that they were willing to load up even more work on themselves.

"Anyway, skip forward and it went well at first. He smiled a lot and enjoyed his time in Orario," Gustav told her, a soft smile on his face as he dwelt in memories, leaning his head back on the chair.

Hestia however looked at him with a sad expression, hands folded on the table.

"But then something happened."

The man's smile slipped at her somber words and he nodded slowly with closed eyes, shoulders slumped.

"We don't know what exactly happened. But whatever happened...it changed him," he muttered and clenched his fists on the wood in front of him. "I think he hates himself for that. The bandages, the voice..."

He took in a shaky breath and opened his eyes, directed downward.

The guilt inside them made her heart burn in pain.

"It's like he is trying to erase his old self from existence," he whispered in sorrow.

Gently, Hestia touched his fists and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at him when he looked up. He weakly smiled back.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened?" She asked in a soft tone and the man sighed, rubbing his chin in thought.

"It may be connected to his old attitude." He shook his head as he tried to find the words. "He was...less focused then in Boundary. Less wary of danger. More relaxed. It may be connected to that."

Hestia winced in sympathy.

She could imagine that Obsidian made a mistake with such a personality in the dungeon. She heard enough stories from others, about overconfident adventurers who got themselves or others killed.

The latter or something similar had to have happened to him.

"Isn't anyone helping him?" Hestia asked with a disturbed tone, and when Gustav shook her head, she couldn't help but gasp.

"Nobody who matters. That means his allies and they are currently in Boundary. Not much of a chance of them coming here as well. Time and responsibilities." He took in a deep breath. "I know they stay in contact somehow, but with the distance...it is not the same, I believe."

The goddess nodded slowly.

As much as Hestia didn't like it, she couldn't fault them. She was no expert, but kingdoms required lots of work. They already compromised by letting one of their own go.

Letting another go?

It would be objectively the wrong choice.

Still, Hestia didn't like it. Didn't like that a mortal, no matter her relation to that person, had to miss out on the warmth of family and friends.

Of support in the darkest of times.

"And his goddess?" Hestia muttered and to her surprise, Gustav grit his teeth.

There was anger in his eyes, something she never expected to see from someone like him.

"She is known to maintain an...observer role," he said in a controlled manner, wiggling his fingers as he tried to relax. "She almost never directly interacts with him. At most with messages, from what I heard."

Her breath stopped for a moment.

Who...who would be so callous and do something like that?

It may have been naive, but Hestia was in the firm belief that if a deity blessed someone, they had to treat that person like family.

Love them, care for them, do everything outside their godly power to support them.

She heard rumors about Soma, but he at least was in one place, where anyone could find him.

Such a disregard…

It disgusted her.

Still, she could see how Obsidian's patron was a sore topic for the man, so she decided to search for more positive information.

"How did he look like before...all this?" She asked softly and the man looked up in surprise.

Then he smiled and closed his eyes.

"His feature were similar to the people in the far east. Short black hair, but paler then most here, considering the cold weather in Boundary. No beard or the likes." He chuckled for a moment and shrugged. "To be honest, he looked like your average young man."

The goddess tilted her head with narrowed eyes, making the man chuckle even more.

That...sounded weird.

Did Obsidian originate from the same lands Takemikazuchi resided until recently? But how and why would he go to Boundary then?

Hestia shook her head.

No, those were questions she could muse over later.

She had enough information for one night. It was getting late anyway.

At least she had a cleared picture of the man Lisa respected so much.

"I see." Hestia stood up from her seat and bowed politely. "Thank you for your time."

"It was my pleasure," Gustav replied with a smile, before gesturing upstairs. "Are you certain you do not want to stay? We have room."

The deity giggled, but shook her head as she reached for the door glancing back at the human.

"No, I need to make sure nothing's stole from my place."

"Be safe!" He yelled after her as he waved goodbye, but Hestia already closed the door behind her.

She took a deep breath of the cold night air, making her shiver despite the new clothes she wore.

For a moment she leaned back against the door, staring at the sky.

The woman couldn't help but grit her teeth.

If she ever met that goddess of Boundary, Hestia would give her a piece of her mind!


	5. Chapter 5

**Behind the mask 5.1**

"Boomerang!"

Immediately, Lili ducked, grinning at the shocked expression of the imp as a shield with another imp crashed into it.

Not missing a beat, she shot her naginata up, making the shield collide with her weapon and squash anything in between.

The Pallum let out a deep breath and her eyes moved all over the place.

The fog was a pain in the ass, but thanks to her species' inherent ability of good eyesight, Lili relaxed slightly when they were finally done with this little monster wave.

A sigh escaped her.

Out of everything she hated on the 12th floor, it were imps.

Not only did they appear in big numbers, but those purple little gremlins were the worst match up to her Infinite Shift skill.

They were easy to kill, like almost everything else on the Upper Floors to Lili, but that was only once she got a hit in.

The imps were not very forthcoming in that area.

The fact that they had a semblance of tactics and focused on hit and run as a means to attack her was a major pain in the ass.

Every time she did get one of them, her skill already ran out.

Good thing her base stats were up to par or else she would have been in a lot of trouble.

At least she figured out that properly blocking and averting attacks counted for the skill.

Not to mention she had reliable teammates to work with.

"Okay! Everthing's dead, I believe!" The Pallum yelled out, turning around while keeping her ears sharp.

Just in time, Welf appeared out of the fog, his salamander cloak drenched in blood.

He was obviously not pleased and Lili stifled a giggle as he shook his left arm slightly, drops falling of it.

"No matter how many times we come here, this place is a nightmare to fight in," he grumbled out and sighed, tapping his shoulder with his weapon a few times.

The Pallum grinned at him with sympathy.

Salamander wool wasn't cheap and Lili needed to replace her trench coat many times because she wasn't careful enough with how the blood splattered around.

"Good thing this place gives so much valis, right?" Lili comforted him with amusement and the man nodded with a small smirk.

"Hear, hear."

Before they could say anything more, a stomp sounded in the area. Another stomp and this time it was closer.

The two of them groaned and turned their heads into the same direction, left for Lili.

"Boomerang!"

The female shout was followed by a nasty splash sound when the shield imbedded itself into the orc's stomach.

The Pallum clicked her tongue as she dodged the blood and twirled Liberty, transformed into the hammer. At the same time, Welf reared back with both of his hands, ready to chop is blade down while the big monster squealed in pain.

"Take that!"

Cutting deep into the arm, Welf's blade was drenched in the monster's blood. The orc screamed loudly in agony and used its free left arm to swipe after the blacksmith.

"Static!"

The hammer was filled with lightning and Lili rammed it straight against the shield right as the blacksmith pulled his weapon back out and backed off.

Moments later and the steaming corpse of the orc lied on the ground.

The two adventurers let out a breath, and wiped their blades. Then, the two of them turned to their supporter, who happily hummed as she cut out the monster stone of the fat monster.

"You seriously need to stop shouting Boomerang every time you throw your shield," Welf said after hoisting his blade on his back, crossing his arms with a small frown.

Lisa looked up, tilting her head in innocent confusion.

"But it's fun," she whined a bit, before breaking out into a smile and waved him off, focusing back on her task. "Besides, Lord Noir used to do the same all the time."

The blacksmith blinked and slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't believe that."

"Actually, I can."

Welf turned to Lili in surprise, who furrowed her forehead in thought.

Actually, she could totally see him do something like that. Considering what noises he made when he punched her…

Yup, not weird at all.

"What? That guy is the most stoic guy I know," Welf said in a skeptical tone, crossing his arms and Lili smirked at him.

"Only when you are there," she teased him and Lisa giggled with her. The blacksmith sighed, head hanging low as he scratched his head.

"Does he have anything against me?"

Instantly, the two girls shook their heads and Lili lightly punched him at the arm with a smile.  
"Not really. I guess he isn't comfortable with you yet. I mean, you met like four times or so?"

Lisa nodded in agreement and Welf shrugged at her words.

"True enough," he muttered.

Then however, Lili's smile wavered when she backtracked on their conversation.

"Wait, teacher did the same exact thing?" Lisa nodded and Lili crossed her arms with narrowed eyes. "With what?"

He never even used something remotely related to a weapon.

In fact, he didn't even have something remotely related to a proper fighting style as he beat the shit out of her, and Lisa, who occasionally joined in.

The latter casually gestured with her hand as she stood up, bag on her back again.

"Oh, he used a single handed axe at the front lines." She giggled for a moment when they began to move again. "His battle cries were one of the things he was famous for."

While the man in the team still had his doubts, Lili nodded in acceptance, confirming her thoughts from before.

Though she did wonder why he didn't use any training weapon in training. It was a bit insulting that her teacher didn't use his full skill against her.

Then again, she mused dryly, he didn't need to, did he?

The Pallum glanced at Lisa's pack.

It was bulging full.

Letting out a sigh, she twirled Liberty in her hand, returning it to its dagger form before gesturing with her head at Lisa.

"Well, we've got enough for today, I think. Let's go back," she recommended, but raised an eyebrow when she saw the frown on the man's face.

Crossing his arms with his blade secured on his back, Welf decided to speak up.

"We've been at this for two months now," he complained and shook his head. "You think I'll get Blacksmith in the near future?"

The girls blinked.

That came out of nowhere.

Lili scratched her head. Normally he would be making small talk or talk about his new creations when they went down.

Now that she thought about it, he did seem rather down this time.

Was he that bothered by his level?

Lisa was the first to raise her hand, deadpan expression in place.

"Nobody is that fast. Not even the Sword Princess."

"Lili looks like she could give her a run for her money," Welf replied dryly, pointing at the girl in question.

She in turn raised her hands in defense.

"I've been to the dungeon lots of times already, so I'm not that special."

"Keep telling that yourself, Miss 'I have every rank over B'," Welf spat out, startling the girls. Instantly, he averted his eyes in shame after realizing what he just did.

"I'm sorry..." A deep sigh escaped him. "I...just really want to level up. Be one of the top adventurers. Someone else in my family recently leveled up, so..."

The Pallum nodded in understanding and bit her lip.

In order to level up, a challenge was needed. The requirements varied, depending on the person, but the overall theme was that. Beating the odds.

The higher the odds, the more likely a level up occurs.

Considering they didn't have many problems on this floor, it meant that leveling up would be a grueling slow process.

Leveling up also equaled the rise in status. More fame meant more respect and that was vital for a blacksmith.

Her thoughts were cut off when Lisa clapped her hands and puffed her cheeks up.

"Stop being so darn gloomy!" She exclaimed and put her hands on her hips with disapproval. "We're having a good pace! Patience is a virtue!"

Then she suddenly stopped, before a wide grin appeared on her face as she wiggled her right finger.

"I know what will cheer you up! The sweet smell of cash and with that a celebration!"

The other two raised an eyebrow at her.

"For what?" Welf asked, repeating Lili's thoughts.

Lisa stared at them in disbelief.

"You guys serious? Anniversary, duh!"

"Don't you usually celebrate after a year?" Lili asked with in a skeptical tone and received a dry look by her friend.

"Do you want to have a feast or not?"

Lili and Welf shared a glance and shrugged at the same time.

"Never say no to free food. This evening?" The blacksmith asked and the supporter nodded in excitement.

"Eyup!"

The Pallum shook her head in amusement, before throwing her thumb over her shoulder.

"Well, first we gotta get outta here."

And getting outta there they did.

Sure, on the way they had to deal with the occasional monster, but it was so routine and easy for Lili, she didn't even pay much attention to it. They mostly walked in silence, with the occasional small talk topic coming up.

Anyway, soon enough, they already reached the surface again, with nothing noteworthy happening.

After leaving the dungeon and cashing in their money, Welf left the group, leaving the girls behind.

The two of them walked together, since New Age and Obsidian's home were in the same direction. Lisa talked about something, but Lili was lost in thought instead. Knowing her friend, it was random stuff anyway.

The reason she was lost in thought was simple.

Leveling up.

Ever since Welf approached the topic, the thought wouldn't leave her head.

Lili was already hitting her limit.

Whatever effect teacher's training had on her (and Lili was sure it was him, after comparing stats with Lisa), it was reaching its limit as well.

Her speed and dexterity hit S rank, but the other stats' growth slowed down to a crawl.

Because of that, she needed to level up eventually.

Question was, how to fix that.

The Upper Floors only had the Infant Dragon to fight as something that could grant a level up, but they were rare. Most of the times, other parties would hog it anyway, so that wasn't very viable.

Which left the Middle Floors.

The Floors where level two monsters were common.

A level one would not be able to survive the Middle Floors. At least not alone.

Even a party of level ones would have issues down there.

Though she did have Infinite Shift…

Lili ruffled her hair in frustration.

Damn it, she couldn't decide.

She did have the tendency to prove herself, but she wasn't stupid. In the last month, it was drilled into her head by Welf, Obsidian and Lisa to control herself.

Speaking of the latter...

A finger snap in front of her and Lili jumped at the motion. Then she turned to a pouting Lisa, who had her hands on her hips.

"Hey! You listening?"

Blushing a bit, the student let out an awkward giggle and scratched her cheek.

"Sorry, lost in thoughts."

Her friend let out a sigh and crossed her arms as they resumed walking.

"It's about the level up thing, right?" Lisa asked, skillfully moving through the crowd despite the bag on her back.

It was a skill Lili took a lot longer to learn.

Anyway, at her words, the Pallum sighed and nodded weakly. Lisa in turn patted her on the shoulder.

"You may have been in the dungeon since you could walk, but supporter only get that many stat boost, right?" She asked with a small smile.

"Probably..." The smaller girl muttered, shoulders slumped.

Feeling a reassuring squeeze, she looked up again at her friend.

"Lord Noir most likely has a skill that helps your growth. Not enough to make it insane, but it would equal the kind of power you get from the dungeon." Lisa shrugged, before waving to some people. Then she focused back to Lili. "Which makes sense, since he trained soldiers before and they needed to improve just as fast. Anyway, give it time. We're improving faster than most people."

The student let out a sigh and nodded.

She shouldn't be too greedy.

Still…

A grin appeared on her face as she crossed her arms at the older human.

"You think we can make a new record?"

Lisa let out a snort and she shook her head.

"Well, you are already disqualified. Wallenstein only needed a year to level up and you spent way more time than that in the dungeon."

Lili laughed at that and raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Fair enough. But she is a monster," she replied and the shop girl raised an eyebrow.

"Personal experience?"

"I once sparred with her." Lili shuddered and rubbed her arm at the memory. "Well, sparred in the loosest of definitions."

Her friend winced at that and she tilted her head.

"Ouch. That bad?"

"The wall needed repairs after we were done," the Pallum dryly replied, remembering the amount of health potions she needed to chug down. Then however, she awkwardly smiled with a shrug. "Though she did learn how to hold back."

"Sounds like an airhead," Lisa commented amused, but Lili gasped and looked around in panic.

"Psst! What if somebody hears us?" She hissed at the Boundary girl, who blinked in confusion.

Well, Aiz totally was, but that was beside the point.

Lili knew how her reputation was, which meant any negative comments would have severe consequences.

Not to mention it was disrespectful.

To her surprise however, Lisa waved her hand dismissively.

"Please, only because they are strong doesn't mean they don't have weird quirks." She crossed her arms with a grin. "I lived in a country that basically worships four adventurers as their kings and even I admit they are not perfect."

"Example?" Lili asked skeptically. Sure, Obsidian had his quirks, but he had to exaggerate at some points, right?

No way people with the same weirdness like Aiz Wallenstein could lead a country.

Sadly, she was proven wrong, as Lisa gave her a blank look.

"Lady Lightbringer hisses at people early in the morning and sounds like an animal for an hour after waking up."

The two came to a stop and stared at each other with unreadable expressions.

For a while, they stayed in silence, before Lili nodded slowly.

"Alright." Blinking wildly, she deleted the image her imagination whipped up and smirked at her friend. "Anyway, maybe we can get you and Welf to have the new record?"

The supporter in turn giggled and threw her right finger into the air.

"Hear the news! Supporter reaches level two in a couple of months! The Bag Princess born?" She announced in a dramatic voice.

The Pallum laughed at her antics and Lisa joined in as they began to walk again.

However, a thought spawned in Lili's mind and the girl turned to her friend.

"Do you know teacher's level? He only told me it's above four," she asked, remembering the conversation thanks to the topic of level ups.

The shop girl hummed in thought and scratched her chin.

"They don't like to put numbers on things. Claim that it only causes headaches. Only Lady Lightbringer actively researches it. The others don't give a crap," she explained, then furrowed her forehead with crossed arms. "But from what I could hear and when I compare it with the rumors about other adventurers..."

She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few second, then opened them while raising her right hand.

"He should be even with level six. With some tricks, even above that in some areas." Lisa paused for a moment, then scratched the back of her head with an awkward giggle. "At least back in his prime."

The Pallum nodded, not really that surprised.

It would explain why he was so casual with Riveria and how only four adventurers took care of an entire country. She also already knew of his dismissal of numbers and status in general. Still, it was nice to have confirmation.

However, hearing these things made her frown.

Before she could follow up on that thought, Lisa stopped all of a sudden and pointed at the alley right to her.

"Well, gotta part ways here." She patted Lili on the head and grinned. "See ya at the Hostess!"

The Pallum waved her friend goodbye, a bit bothered by the head patting, but still smiled at her.

Then her smile disappeared as she walked alone, reaching her destination.

She stared at their home.

The thought from before appeared again.

A small hut, something a high class adventurer did not deserve.

The Pallum sighed.

Obsidian sounded like a great man. The definition of a hero that appeared in books.

So it was a pity Lili never got to see it in person.

Lately, her teacher was...down. Barely left the house and often sat around in the dark, staring into empty space. Sure, they talked, but he was awfully quiet and it was difficult to find topic to make him talk more.

"Home sweet home," she muttered and reached for the door.

Then she stopped with wide eyes.

There were voices inside.

Someone else was there.

* * *

 **Behind the mask 5.2**

Good thing one of the things she learned in her life as a punching bag was the ability to eavesdrop like a master.

With that in mind, Lili made sure she didn't make a sound as she pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes in concentration.

Slowly but surely, her brain began to decipher the mumbling in the building.

"...and sometimes, going back to the basics and keeping it simple is creative and good as well," a muffled voice argued casually and the Pallum realized it was her teacher.

He sounded a hell of a lot more lively than the time she left him in the house.

The question however was who the hell was with him inside?

The man never left the house unless he had to (which meant buying food or something) and Lili lived long enough with him that she knew he did not receive visitors.

It was a fact. Like water was wet or the sky was blue.

Not even Lisa or Gustav ever visited him. Something about his house being his area of peace and solitude.

Which probably meant he disliked visitors and told everyone to piss off. Something along those lines, the Pallum suspected.

Anyway, the girl took a deep breath and pressed her ear harder against the door.

"Hm, I cannot argue against that," an aloof female voice agreed with a huff. Then it turned more patronizing. "Of course, if it keeps being simple, one would believe the author does not know how to write fights."

Lili's eyes widened.

Was…

Was that Riveria?

She wasn't too sure, considering how many females she had met in the past months and the muffled door made it hard to make out.

"Eh, as long as he doesn't write too many fights, it won't be noticed. So far, he did a pretty good job," her teacher replied and Lili could literally see the casual shrug of not caring Obsidian tended to use in her mind.

No insults being thrown around yet.

Looked like she needed visual evidence.

Carefully, Lili peered through the window.

Indeed, Riveria sat across Obsidian on the table, giving the man a frown. The latter slumped against his chair, book in hand. The same book was lying in front of the elf.

When she was sure that the two of them couldn't see her, she sharpened her ears again to listen.

At the same time, the elf scoffed and brushed her hair aside as she crossed her legs and arms.

"Only you would assume that the laziness of the reader is required to make a book be a good one."

The man in turn looked up and grinned lazily.

"What can I say? I am a simple man with simple needs." He wiggled his right hand a bit. "Many are."

"What kind of needs would that be? Odd jobs and torturing your student?" The elf asked with a raised eyebrow, skepticism seeping from her words.

"And annoying you, yes."

At his smirk, Riveria narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I am never annoyed," she declared, rolling her eyes in exasperation. In return, Obsidian gave her a flat look.

"Are you? What about last week where you tried to choke me?" He asked dryly and Lili rolled her eyes.

He always had to exag-

Instantly, the elf slammed her hands on the table as she stood up and leaned forward, furious blush on her face.

The Pallum gaped.

Say what?

"You insulted Isabella and I will not stand for this!" She shouted enraged and Obsidian leaned back a bit with wide eyes.

Lili nodded slowly, blank expression in place.

Lately, her respectful images of high class adventurers were going down the drain.

Well, never meet your idols, that was the saying.

Anyway, her teacher composed himself again, in a sense, and leaned forward as well, crossing his arms.

"She is a whore and a killer!" He yelled back and pointed at the book to prove his point, which he set down on the table.

This was actually happening, Lili realized, blinking a few times.

Her teacher, closest thing to a real life hero she met and the strongest mage of Orario…

Were arguing over fictional characters like it was their passion.

The girl took a deep breath.

Fine, no more expectations.

She would be less disappointed that way.

"She has a difficult past!"

Riveria's loud voice brought Lili out of her thoughts and she focused back on their conversation.

"Cool motive, still cold blooded bitch," Obsidian countered in a cold tone and sat back on his chair after clicking his tongue.

The elf on the other hand shook her head at him, a chiding smirk on her face as she continued to stand.

"Here I thought you liked complex characters," she said in a condescending tone.

"The only complex thing about her is how fucked her head is," the man muttered, ignoring the indignation on Riveria's face. Then he turned his head to stare directly at Lili, slight amusement in his-

Wait a minute.

The student froze as if a spell caught her and could not avert her gaze from her teacher's.

The noble noticed his shift of focus and followed his eyes.

Promptly, she froze as well, wide eyes directed at the Pallum.

Lili gulped, imagining that the color in her face faded away just like Riveria's.

She was so going to die.

"Lili, how long are you going to stand there?"

His dry words, as always, managed to throw the girl out of her funk and like a soldier being ordered, she did not waste any time to quickly enter the building and bowing respectfully.

"I-I didn't want to eavesdrop-" She began to stutter, only to be interrupted by Obsidian's snort.

"Of course you didn't."

Gritting her teeth for a moment, she took the interruption in stride and continued on as if nothing happened.

"-but you seemed so into it, so I didn't interrupt...Yeah..."

Alright, that was a lame finish, but she was in a room with two people that could snap her like a twig.

That one of them was mainly a mage was not a fact that was lost on her.

Speaking of which, the lady managed to force calmness upon her own features, staring at the Pallum for a moment.

Then, she smiled politely at her.

"It is alright, child."

Lili let out a breath of relief.

Thank the gods for elven pride and self control.

Naturally, her teacher needed to throw her back into the fire.

"You sure? You're blushing," Obsidian graciously pointed out and gestured at his student. "How did you not notice her?"

Riveria's eyebrow twitched momentarily, her smile becoming more forced.

Lili sent a betrayed look at her teacher, who smirked at her.

Was he trying to get her killed?!

"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what...occurred here," the elf said with closed eyes, making very clear that there was no choice to make, but an order to follow.

The answer was pretty obvious, as Lili meekly nodded.

"My lips are sealed."

Riveria nodded with satisfaction and opened up her left eye to glance at Obsidian.

"I wonder what Noir did to deserve a girl like you," she wondered out loud in a coy tone and the man in question snorted.

"Maybe the gods pitied me and decided to throw me a bone," he said dryly. To Lili's surprise, Riveria took the self depreciating comment in stride as she completely turned to him, unamused eyes directed at him.

"If it were that easy, half of Orario would have someone like her."

At her flat tone, the man chuckled lightly and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"True enough."

The woman joined in, giggling as well as she covered her mouth.

Lili blinked at that.

Somehow these two...appeared a lot closer than the last time she met Riveria.

Well, if it helped Obsidian to not sulk around alone, who was she to judge?

With a shrug, she took a seat to her teacher's left and folded her hands on the table.

"So what were you two doing anyway?" She asked with curiosity. It did sound like a book discussion, but she was missing some context.

From her eye corner, she could see some weird movements, but they stopped when her teacher casually replied to her.

"Reading and discussing. Romance." He turned to Riveria and raised an eyebrow. "What? She won't tell anyone."

Lili looked at the elf as well and shrunk down in her chair when she saw her.

Taking a deep breath and appearing to count to ten with closed eyes.

Crap, Lili stepped on another landmine.

Calmly, Riveria opened her eyes and leaned forward a bit with folded hands.

"I do not make it a habit to share my...secrets with others," she elaborated with a neutral expression.

Of course, her teacher had to scoff, ignoring any signs of danger in front of him.

"Anyone that bothers to properly look at your book shelf would figure out your taste," he commented in dry amusement. Riveria glared at him in a chiding manner, shifting targets away from Lili.

"Nobody ever looks at book shelves unless they didn't have any other choice."

Obsidian blinked for a moment, before twirling his hand at her with a hum.

"Can't argue with that..." He muttered as he looked down on the table, not seeing that the elf smirked at him.

The Pallum did not understand their relationship. At all.

Either way, she decided to get herself from potential elf assassination and raised her right hand.

"Again, my lips are sealed." Lili paused and bit her lip as her curiosity got the best of her. "Romance?"

Obsidian shrugged in response.

"It's generic romance. Meet and greet, drama stuff and don't even show what happens after. Not really my thing, but I like the world building."

"That's because you have a horrible eye for good literature sometimes," the elf countered, causing Lili to turn her head to the frown of the woman.

"More like I have higher standards than you," Obsidian drawled as he leaned back on his chair, making the Pallum turn her head once again.

For some reason, his answer pleased the woman as she smirked and put her right hand on her cheek.

"Higher standards. Forgive me, but could you remind me what those higher standards are?" She asked in an innocent tone.

He opened his mouth, finger raised, to prove his point.

Then immediately he closed it and turned to his student, trying to appear nonchalantly.

"So, how was your day?" He asked, his voice breaking just a tiny bit.

Lili couldn't help but grin at him.

It was totally friendship and cuddling. He just didn't want to admit it out loud.

Judging from the smugness radiating from the elf in the room, she knew that too.

Still, the student decided to help her teacher out and decided to recount her day in the dungeon. It wasn't like she did anything special, but she might as well humor them.

After finishing her little report, Obsidian nodded with satisfaction. However, Riveria held her chin with closed eyes.

"Hm. It is a wise thing to be cautious. Many adventurers lost their lives because they were too eager to prove themselves." She opened her eyes again and looked at Lili in a neutral manner. "However, remember that improvement can sometimes only happen with risks. Not that I suggest you should search for danger."

"What she is saying is that you should be very mindful of your own limits before you try to go beyond them," Obsidian added at Lili's confusion, caused by the seemingly random lecture.

Nevertheless, it sounded like good advice, so she just nodded in understanding.

Then, the mage stood up and bowed politely with closed eyes.

"It appears I should take my leave," she announced, before glancing at Obsidian with one eye. "Next time you let a guest in, try not to look so gloomy. Your presence is bad enough as it is."

Despite her patronizing tone, the man softly smiled at her.

"I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for visiting," he said in a tone Lili recognized as genuine.

Riveria cleared her throat awkwardly as she turned her back to them.

The Pallum could swear she could see her blush.

"U-unlike you, I do not leave any debts unpaid," the elf said in a rather quick tone as she reached for the door. She glanced back for a moment and gave an acknowledging nod. "Have a nice day."

With those words, the adventurer left the building, leaving teacher and student alone.

Immediately, Lili turned to her teacher with narrowed eyes, right arm on the table while the other was on her hip.

"Debt?" She asked skeptically and the man scratched his right cheek.

"I bribed her for...stuff."

"Stuff," Lili dryly repeated and the man raised his hand in disapproval, palm directed at her as he cleared his throat a tad to loud.

"Just veteran knowledge for the dungeon. Get your mind out of the gutter. Where do you think I get it from?"

He was blushing a bit, the Pallum was sure.

Still, she bit her lip with worry as she decided not to tease him about it.

After all, apparently he paid for her safety more than she first thought.

"It's not too expensive, right?" She asked warily and Obsidian wiggled his hand.  
"Ehh...Relatively." He let out a deep breath and leaned back on his chair, right hand on his forehead. "Didn't expect her to come here since I didn't go to her..."

Lili nodded at his words, not wanting to open the can of terror that was their relationship and crossed her arms as she rested them on the table.

"I still don't understand how you can be so casual around her. I mean, she is technically ranks above you," she muttered and the man scoffed at her words.

"What, because she actively goes into the dungeon? May I remind you I am technically not that weak myself?"

The Pallum blinked at his words and turned her head to him.

"Well, yeah, but she is also a noble, the heir of her kingdom..." She trailed off, seeing the incomprehension on his face.

She let her mouth hang open as the moment kept staring at her, blinking in confusion.

"Noble?" He asked in an incredulous tone and Lili could not help but gape even more.

She used her right hand to close her mouth and she straightened up her back.

"Y-yes. Noble. As in, High Elf, noblest of noble. Princess, future queen," she rattled off, gesturing wildly with her hands, before letting them down as she shook her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me you didn't know."

"She never told me," he weakly countered with wide eyes.

"How about rumors?" Lili asked in exasperation, throwing her arms up in the air.

"They were just talking how majestic she is and all that crap," he replied in irritation, twirling his right hand a bit. Then he stared at the table, as he rested his chin on his right fist. "I thought it was a common elf thing..."

"You seriously didn't know," the girl said, barely believing it.

How could he not know?!

It wasn't that hard to find out either, so he had no excuse!

For a while, they sat in silence like that.

However, the man shrugged then as he crossed his legs and took up his book from the table.

"Oh well, can't fix my mistake and I don't wanna change the nature of our relationship."

Well, he got over it quickly, the girl dryly mused.

Then however, Lili furrowed her eyebrows.

Something about his voice felt...off…A bit soft and joyful...Even some relief for some reason...

As if...

"Nature…?" She asked and tilted her head with narrowed eyes. "Do you have a crush on her?"

"What? No!" He denied a moment _too_ quickly. He shook his head and groaned. "Kids and their romance stuff..."

The Pallum stared at him in amazement.

If it weren't for the bandages, she was sure she could see a tomato head.

Alrighty, that was one mystery solved somewhat.

It was kinda cute, in a weird kind of way.

And also disturbing for some reason as well.

The girl decided not to follow that line of thought and tried to figure out what else to do.

Wasn't there something she wanted to say before coming here…?

Her eyes widened in realization.

Right, there was a thing!

"The team is going to have a celebration..." She began to say and the man glanced at her in a neutral manner. Lili scratched the back of her head. "You know, because of two months of working together. Do you...want to come?"

For a while, he stared at her. The girl bit her lip as she saw how his eyes clouded over for a moment when he glanced at the door for a moment.

He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to his book.

"I'm good," he replied gruffly. Then his features softened when he looked back up at her and he nodded at her with a smile. "Really. I'm good. I reached my social quoata of the day anyway."

She would have felt better if it didn't seem forced already.

The girl closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance.

"If you say so. Just...If you..." She trailed off and then shook her head with a sigh. "Forget it."

Walking through the door, she turned around, handle in hand.

Just as she closed it however, she saw it.

His right hand twitched and moved a bit towards her, before his shoulder's slumped again and he stared against the wall.

As if he wanted to reach for her.

For her help.

A shaky breath escaped Lili as she moved a bit quicker down the streets than usual.

Sometimes, she could see it. She just didn't want to acknowledge it.

But the evidence was shoved into her face the last days, just like what happened recently.

His periods of silence, sitting alone and stating at nothing.

No, not at nothing.

His eyes were clouded.

Haunted.

And he wanted help, even though something stopped him from outright asking for it.

Riveria's visit made him look more lively than she had seen him for weeks, outside their own talks.

But now that she left, he was starting to revert already.

To be honest, Lili didn't want to leave him alone, while she was going to celebrate an anniversary.

The Pallum stopped in her tracks, eyes wide.

Wait.

Anniversary...

It had to be hist past.

But Lili didn't understand what the root of the problem was.

She remembered their confrontation when she first went into the dungeon with Liberty. So it had to do something with that.

There were some theories in her head, but she needed evidence.

Lili sighed and began to walk again.

It had been six months.

She needed to do some research she should have done ages ago.

Good thing she was going to the Hostess later.

* * *

 **Behind the mask 5.3**

No matter how many times she came here, the food at the Hostess of Fertility was just top notch.

That thought went through her head as she munched on her roasted potato with a blissful expression.

She wasn't the only one like that.

A blacksmith to her left, a goddess to her right and a shop keeper girl in front of her all munched on their own potato with satisfaction, all sitting at the round table.

That sounded like a bad joke, Lili thought with a dry chuckle.

Gulping down the food at the same time, they all let out a satisfied sigh as they leaned back on their chairs.

Their table was full with dirty plates, fitting for a celebration feast.

No wonder Mama Mia gave them special attention tonight. They paid the most, after all.

Welf clapped his stomach with a wide grin.

"Man, I wish I could eat this every day…"

The girls chuckled at his words and Lisa leaned forward, twirling her head casually.

"Lord Noir could, but he never does." She glanced at Lili with a smirk. "Too bad he isn't that generous, ey?"

The Pallum in turn snorted dryly and raised her hands as she shook her head with closed eyes.

"If he were that generous I could buy the Hostess if it were for sale," she drawled before leaning back and giggling with the rest of the girls.

Welf on the other hand gave all the females at the table a confused look and tilted his heads with crossed arms.

"How can a guy like him be so rich? As in, not going into the dungeon every day?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

Immediately, Lisa raised her hand in a serious manner.

"By running a city for a few years and saving that money up," she answered in a deadpan tone and Lili nodded with an equally serious expression.

To her surprise, Lisa's goddess did as well.

Anyway, the blacksmith blinked owlishly.

"What?" He asked in an incredulous tone and sipped on his water for a moment. "Is it about the Boundary thing?"

"One of four blessed people, helping civilization, both in creating and maintaining it...Yup, sounds like a job that makes you money," Hestia replied casually with a shrug.

"Not to mention the loot from major incursions." Lisa paused, her amused expression wavering. Then it got replaced by suspicion when she turned to her goddess. "Wait, how do you know about that, Lady Hestia?"

The deity in question blinked for a moment, before smiling brightly as she folded her hands on the table.

"Oh, I talked to your father a bit. I was curious about your country."

The Pallum blinked at that.

Right, Lili could have asked them for information as well. But it felt...more right to ask her teacher about this kind of stuff.

Besides, it wasn't likely they knew more about Boundary than one of its leaders.

Anyway, Lisa pouted as she put her hands on the table.

"Geez, you could have asked me as well!" She gasped dramatically as she turned away, fake tears in her eyes. "Here I thought you trusted me!"

Hestia immediately spluttered with a flushed expression as she frantically wiggled her hands in front of her in a poor attempt of calming down her child.

"I-I do trust you!" Her lip wavered and then grabbed onto the sleeve of Lisa, fake tears welling up as well. "Please forgive me, my child! I am not neglecting you!"

The supporter sniffed dramatically and turned to face Hestia with a shaking smile and open arms.  
"Ah, such a wonderful goddess...with those words, who am I to stay mad?" She declared theatrically, before embracing the deity into a tight hug.

Welf glanced at Lili and they were both equally disturbed by this.

Her eyebrow twitched, but her eyes widened when an ugly feeling reared its head in her chest.

Envy. Envy at their relationship.

Quickly, she choked it down after clearing her throat, but Lili still felt ashamed of having that emotion for just a moment.

Not wanting to dwell on it, the student decided to do one of the things she came here for.

When goddess and child separated, Lili awkwardly raised her hand after clearing her throat.

Having their full attention, the girl scratched her cheek.

Alright, how to phrase this?

"I...don't wanna kill the mood but..." She trailed off and took a deep breath before leaning forward, arms on the table. "Would one of you know if there is a special occasion or something this week?

The three people looked at each other in confusion, switching gazes a couple of times.

"Special occasion?" Lisa asked for the others.

Lili bit her lip and took a deep breath.

Here went nothing.

"Teacher is acting weird lately," she said with a frown.

The reactions came immediately.

Welf remained confused and crossed his arms with a frown.

The other two girls however, were more interesting.

Lisa's eyes widened instantly and she averted her eyes as she awkwardly cleared her throat.

Her goddess on the other hand furrowed her forehead for a moment, before realization set in as well and she bit her lip.

"Acting weird? How?" The man of the group asked and Lili scratched her head.

"Well..." She trailed off, not sure how to phrase it.

"He doesn't leave his home at all, does he?" Lisa asked with a melancholy smile.

The Pallum blinked.

"Do you know something?" She asked, a small hope in her voice.

Sadly, things would not work out that fast for her.

"I...don't know much about what happened," Lisa said slowly, disappointing the student a little. She sighed and scratched her arm uncomfortably. "What I know is...Well...it's an anniversary..."

Welf winced at those words, leaning his head on his hand.

"Doesn't sound like the kind of anniversary I would like," he said dryly and the shop girl shook her head.

"It isn't." She sent an apologizing look at Lili and smiled weakly. "My father probably knows more, but I don't have the details."

The Pallum waved her off, telling her it wasn't her fault. She did notice that Hestia made a weird face, but stayed quiet.

Lili knew better than to force a goddess to reveal her secrets and she liked her from what she could see.

A sigh escaped her as she leaned back on her chair.

Well, there went plan A.

Luckily for Lili, plan B was still in the same building.

But first…

Embarrassed, the girl grinned at the team as she stood up, cup in hand.

"Sorry for bringing down the mood. If you don't know, you don't know." She took in a deep breath and raised her hand, grin growing wider. "Now, we're here to celebrate...To the team!"

"Cheers!" They all yelled, toasting with cheer, the previous air almost completely forgotten.

"Mama Mia! Second round, if you can!"

The female dwarf leaned out from behind the counter at Lisa's loud demand and grinned widely.

"Music to my ears!" She laughed in a boisterous manner and clapped her hands. "Girls, you heard them!"

With that done, their party gained a second wind as more food arrived.

Sure, they ate a lot already…

But at feasts like these, one was meant to throw money away.

Also, it was the perfect time to slip away, Lili noted as she sipped on her drink.

Her eyes wandered all over the Hostess, passing other patrons eating on their own or celebrating with others.

In the end, her gaze rested on her target, who was currently carrying a giant plate to other guests, expression neutral as always.

There she was.

Standing up from the table, she nodded at them with a small, reassuring smile.

"I gotta do something. Be right back," Lili explained and the three casually accepted her action, focusing back on eating and idle talk.

Walking up to the elf, she waved happily. Ryuu blinked for a moment and stopped. Then she gave the Pallum an acknowledging nod, plate not even shaking a bit in her hands.

"Ah, Liliruca. Do you enjoy your celebration?"

"Yup," Lili replied and then gestured to the exit with a nervous smile. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes? It's...important."

For a moment, the elf stared at her with an unreadable expression and Lili was afraid she needed to postpone it.

Luckily, Ryuu's expression became a bit more soft and nodded.

"Of course."

Turning around, she put her dishes on the arms of another maid, silver pony tailed, who blinked owlishly at the new weight and back to her colleague. Ryuu simply stared back after patting her on the shoulder.

"Syr, take over for a while."

"Heeeeeh?!"

Before she could object more, Lili and Ryuu left the poor maid behind. The former winced a bit at her reaction.

Maybe she should give that Syr a nice tip later.

Anyway, they walked around the Hostess and reached the back yard of the bar. Ryuu leaned against the wall, arms crossed while Lili jumped up on a crate and sat down on it.

"What is it?" The older woman asked patiently.

The student took in a deep breath of the night air and hugged herself as she stared at the ground.

"It's about teacher." A sigh escaped her and she readjusted her coat sleeves with narrowed eyes. "He's been...reclusive lately. Like some weird hermit. Do you know what's up with that?"

Ryuu's eyes widened for just a moment, but Lili caught it.

"Ah...It must be this time of the year again..." She muttered quietly as she averted her eyes and Lili stood up, deep frown on her expression.

Lead found.

"What time?" The Pallum pressed on, making the elf look up in surprise.

Then she bit her lip. Lili recognized what that meant.

Ryuu hesitated.

She looked like she was going to deny Lili the information.

Sadly, Ryuu forgot one thing.

Unlike Lisa, the maid knew something.

Because of that, Lili grabbed her sleeve and tugged with a deep frown, determined to keep her in the area.

The elf stared at the girl with surprise, but didn't move away.

"Ryuu. You know something, right?" She asked forcefully, but then her voice sounded more pleading. "Give me something. Please."

Ryuu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she put her hand on Lili's shoulder and leading her back to the crate.

"Very well. You of all people deserve to know more about your teacher."

With those calm words, she sat down, gesturing for the Pallum to do the same.

Then she folded her hands, staring at the ground with a blank expression for a while.

After a while, she looked up to the sky, eyes closed.

"There was once an irregular supporter two years ago. He didn't belong to any known family in Orario and offered his service to anyone," she began to tell and Lili paid her full attention to her. Sure, the story thing was a bit weird, but she would take it.

"He was strong. Strong enough to make even adventurers of level four jealous." A dry chuckle escaped her and she shook her head. "He could handle himself, so the adventurers could focus on their own battles."

She opened her eyes and stared at the sky.

"He was strange. Talking about stuff nobody knew about, using techniques that were unheard. Always self confident and casual in his work. Like nothing could touch him." Ryuu's mouth thinned with disapproval. "But he never actively supported other if he could help it. He was more concerned on having...fun. Or on investigating the dungeon, letting others do the heavy work."

Lili stared at the elf with shock.

That...did not sound like Obsidian at all.

He wasn't that arrogant. The opposite, he talked himself down the whole time…

The student's eyes widened.

Because he used to be that arrogant, he talked himself down.

The holes in the picture began to be filled.

Still, she sharpened her ears when Ryuu continued, folding her hands on her lap.

"One day, he went in with adventurers that took the second step towards divinity into the Middle Floors. I heard it was a quest to investigate a recent flux in monster activity. Naturally, the man wanted to find out more about it. As usual, he was confident that nothing could have happened."

She paused and seemed to struggle with her words.

In the end, she let out a deep breath as she stared at the ground.

Her eyes seemed...haunted as well.

As if she remembered something else on top of that.

Reassuringly, the Pallum squeezed the elf's hand.

Ryuu looked up and smiled softly for a moment, before becoming more somber.

"He was the only one who returned, covered in blood and tattered clothes." A pause and she nodded slowly. "Human blood and monster blood alike. His weapon was still dripping on the floor. He was barely recognizable."

Lili couldn't help but gasp, her free hand covering her mouth.

It was pretty obvious was happened to Obsidian now. So very obvious, that the girl wanted to kick herself for it.

Still...at least she had her answer now.

However, Ryuu was not done yet.

"For a while, he just walked, shell shocked and unaware of the world," she continued in a low whisper and shuddered. "When someone inquired what happened...he snapped."

The student's hand squeezed a bit harder at those words, trying not to imagine it.

Naturally she failed.

She could see it with ease.

Screaming at the world of being unfair, she could see how Obsidian would have damaged the area around him in the process, just like he destroyed the table back then in rage.

Unstoppable anger, filled with despair.

No wonder he freaked out when Lili went into the dungeon.

Now she felt even worse.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them off before taking a shaking deep breath.

Standing up, she turned to Ryuu with crossed arms, trying to stay calm.

"And nobody knows it's him? The bandaged man I call my teacher?" She asked and Ryuu shook her head.

For some reason, this relieved Lili from one weight in her chest.

"Not many would make the connection and considering he disappeared, it doesn't stick to the memories of the public," the maid explained and the Pallum nodded in understanding.

Still, she crossed her arms, another question on her mind.

"How did you find out?" She asked and somberly, Ryuu smiled at her.

"I was there. I confirmed it once I approached him. Again, we are...kindred spirits. Not friends per se, but I could...feel it."

"Not friends?" Lili asked, tilting her head.

She remembered how similar Obsidian's interactions were with Riveria, so why wouldn't they be friends?

The elf chuckled amused at her question, shaking her head for a moment.

"I believe we just do not...'click' as some people may call it. Not that I am too mad about this. You cannot become close with everyone," Ryuu replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

The Pallum looked at her with a skeptical expression, before raising her hands in acceptance.

Well, if she said so, Lili would believe her.

For a while, they stood there in silence and the student bit her lip.

Maybe she could dig for mo-

As if reading her mind, the elf stood up and bowed slightly.

"I cannot say more. This is his story to tell. I apologize."

Lili couldn't help but let out a small groan. Nevertheless, she nodded in acceptance, eyes to the ground.

She already got a lot more than she expected in one day. She would take her victories.

Looking back up, she noticed that Ryuu looked at her with a small frown.

Before she could ask, the elf put her hand on her right shoulder and serious eyes gazed into her own.

"Liliruca. I ask of you to be careful when broaching this topic to him. I know for certain he wants to bury his past, yet can't."

Lili remembered her last confrontation with Obsidian and immediately nodded.

"I keep it in mind."

"Good," Ryuu replied and removed her hand. An amused smile appeared on her face. "I must return. Mama Mia won't be pleased if I stay away too long.

Snorting in return, Lili followed Ryuu back to the Hostess.

In front of the door however, Lili stopped when she remembered something.

Kindred spirits.

"Ryuu!" She quickly called out. When the elf turned to her, Lili cleared her throat awkwardly with an embarrassed smile. "I'm there to listen. Okay?"

For a moment, Ryuu blinked blankly at her.

Then, she smiled as well.

"I appreciate it."

* * *

 **Interlude: The Old Steel**

 _Screams filled my ears. The air was filled with an iron smell._

 _A cave. I was inside a cave._

 _Why was I there?_

 _Didn't matter. Screams finally stopped, yet were still there._

 _My feet felt wet. Looking down. It was blood._

 _Blood, blood everywhere. It was everywhere and it wouldn't leave me. Water, dirt, cutting, burning, nothing worked. It was still there on my skin, that stupid blood._

 _Rotten arms grabbed my legs, and tried to drag me down. I fought back, back, always back._

 _They still dragged me down._

 _Moaning, I didn't understand, yet understand. Words didn't have meaning, but emotions._

 _Hate. Blame. Despair._

 _My fault._

 _Body was half way down into the ground._

 _How long was I fighting? Why was I fighting?_

 _It was useless. The corpses had an iron grip on me, slowly but surely making sure I became one of them._

 _Why bother fighting back?_

" _Teacher, what would you do if you were losing in a fight?"_

 _Whose voice was that…?_

" _If I will lose anyway, might as well give them a fuck you while I'm at it. Always fight back. Boundary rule number one."_

 _I blinked._

 _Wait._

 _Liliruca. My student._

 _Student at the Hostess._

 _I sent her off._

 _Not in this cave._

 _This wasn't real-_

My eyes snapped open.

I gasped, clutching my chest as I frantically looked around.

Familiar wooden walls, personal chair I was sitting on, kitchen that was pathetically small, bandages on body…

I let out a deep breath and covered my face, not caring that they were covered anyway.

How long was I gone this time?

Looking out the window, I couldn't help but groan.

It was night. The area I lived in barely had any magic stones to light up the streets, so it was easy to tell.

I stood up, pacing around as I rubbed my arms with a frown.

Better than I thought, worse than I hoped.

At least I wasn't gone for a whole week. Being hungry and thirsty after a bad flashback was not a combo I appreciated.

Gods, I hated those flashbacks.

Why didn't I buy any more books or at least borrowed them from Riveria to distract myself?

I stopped walking and blinked.

Wait.

That never worked out. The last time I tried, the letters tried to choke me to death.

Right.

I nodded in a tired manner and slumped back down on my chair, sighing deeply.

What I wouldn't wish for alcohol to work again for me. It at least helped me sleep for a few weeks.

Than bullshit blessing had to develop an immunity to that.

Arms on the table, I rubbed my forehead with my right hand.

I just wanted to sleep. Get this damn annivesary over with. I haven't slept for days and while I could physically take it, mentally it was taking its toll.

I wouldn't be surprised if Riveria noticed. My snips at her were about as strong as paper thrown at a wall.

Seriously, I needed to show more gratitude that she came. It distracted me and cut the time of my suffering shorter. As much as I didn't wanted people to see me, my pride was not great enough that I wouldn't appreciate it.

Didn't mean I had the guts to ask for help myself.

My forehead furrowed.

Something felt off...a familiar feeling…

There was that annoying beeping noise in my head…

I slapped my head, letting out a 'duh' when I remembered what it was.

Someone sent me a message.

Calling it up to the front of my mind, so to say, I looked at what it was and from who.

Needed sometime to get used to that private messaging thing.

My expression softened up when I saw the sender of the message.

Luci.

Then my eyes widened in panic.

Crap, why did she had to contact me now?

Her timing was the worst sometimes. Now she would wonder if something was wrong.

[Haven't heard from you in a while. Please respond.]

Yup. Called it.

I let out a sigh.

Welp, time to chat back and do damage control.

Calling up the words in my mind, I "typed" out the reply. Checking it over, I focused on sending it. Feeling a small twitch in the depth of my divinity, I knew it was sent.

[Getting better. Week almost over. Replies more regularly. Probably]

Almost instantly, I got another message.

I blinked.

That...was faster than usual.

[Offer still stands.]

Ooph, not even asking if I was okay.

I let out a dry chuckle.

Either her trust was still as strong as always or she was pissed.

[Appreciate it.]

There, my gratitude for her friendship, but also making it very clear I was not in the mood to talk in real time, like always-

Another flash opened up in my mind.

Sweat dropped from my head.

Okay, I was really starting to believe she was pissed.

[Appreciate it by accepting it.]

I took in a sharp breath.

Yup, pissed it was.

Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath.

I knew she meant well.

They all did.

But I couldn't. It was...too shameful to talk to them.

I didn't want them to hear me like how I was now.

Not to mention I had enough flashbacks to deal with.

With tired eyes, I focused on two simple words.

[Am trying.]

Truth been told, I waited for a reply.

This time, it took a lot longer.

After I began to fidget on my seat a bit, I finally received an answer.

[Fine.]

A sigh of relief escaped me as I let my arms hang loose next to the chair and smiled softly.

Good ol' Luci. So understanding.

I really needed to sent her some sweets when I got the time.

To my surprise, another message was sent.

[Peace talks have been started. Looks promising. Wish you were here.]

Staring at the words in my head, I couldn't help but whistle.

Before I left, we were trying to kill them and them us. Normal monster humanoid relationship.

I hummed impressed.

Wow.

A grin appeared on my face and I quickly prepared my reaction in word form.

[Glad to hear it. Wish you luck.]

[Will need it. Worse comes to worse, the other two are with me. Love you.]

I blushed at her words. Rolling my eyes in exasperation, I nonetheless smiled.

[Love you too.]

With that done, no new messages came, so I leaned back on my chair and let out a deep sigh.

Welp, that distraction was over now.

All I could do now was await the next flashback until the hell week was over.

Idly looking around with dreary eyes, they rested on the mirror between the bedrooms. I purchased it for Lili, considering I broke the last ones.

A dry chuckle escaped me as I looked at the reflection.

Gods, I looked like crap.

The bandages were loose, revealing my pale skin and my mouth. I could see the bags under my eyes and they were damp with my sweat.

That was just gr-

Steps came closer from outside.

My eyes widened in panic.

Shit, Lili was here and I was not looking okay.

I took in a deep breath and readjusted my bandages around my head just in case. Then I clapped my hands in agitation after I was done with that, knowing I couldn't just dry up magically.

Ironic as it was, I snorted at that before slapping my cheeks.

Come on, old man. You were better than that.

Well, at least...she deserved better than that.

Cross legs, book in hand that was conveniently on the table, rub chin.

Very picture of casual teacher.

I hoped.

The door opened and I tried my hardest not to look like I tried my hardest.

Jesus, was I that sleep deprived that I cooked up such sentences in my head?! And why was I still having a monologue?! Head in the game, old fart!

Suppressing the urge to slap my face, I "idly" glanced to the entrance, seeing my exhausted girl entering with a sigh.

"I'm home..." She muttered in a tired tone.

Punishment? No no, she just celebrated. Cheerful? No, out of character as far as I was concerned and she would question it. Say nothing? Again, she would be suspicious.

Nonchalant? Yes, that could work. Nonchalant.

Turning my gaze back to the book I pretended to read and flipped a page.

"Welcome back," I casually replied back, internally cheering to myself.

Nailed it. Guess I recovered enough social juice for this one.

Good, she needed a role model.

Well, closest thing to a role model she could currently get.

Turn page, yawn, and wait for reaction.

And wait.

And wait.

And-

I looked up, seeing the girl stand at the door awkwardly, fidgeting around like she crashed my car or something.

Cars didn't even exist here, so that couldn't be it.

Blinking, I scratched my chin as she continued to avoid eye contact.

Weird, normally she would do something. Sit down, go to sleep, comment about something…

I raised my right eyebrow, setting the book down.

"Something wrong?" I risked to ask, making her jump a bit.

Okay, now I was starting to get worried and I made it clear as I pressed my lips together with worry.

The girl took a deep breath and stepped forward, a determined look on her face after she got her wits together.

To be honest, that worried me even more.

"Teacher...I know. What happened," she calmly declared, folding her hands as she stood in front of me.

Instantly, I took a sharp breath, my hands clutching the paper so hard, the pages were probably ruined by it.

Naturally she flinched and I did my best to reign myself in, stopping any spark from becoming a flame.

Closing my eyes, I counted to ten and exhaled slowly.

Letting go of the book and shoving it aside, I clapped my hands together and brought them to my mouth as I nodded. Then I opened my eyes and glanced at Lili, making sure they were calm.

"Ryuu told you, didn't she?" I rasped out and couldn't help but let out an amused snort.

I wasn't really mad that she told Lili. Actually, I was glad they reached the level of friendship that they could talk about such things to each other with so much trust.

I would be more happy if it were any topic but this one.

Nevertheless, I smiled softly under those bandages and behind my hands.

Maybe because of that, Lili seemed more afraid of my reaction and raised her hands defensively when she sat down to my right.

"I don't know the full story. So you can still trust her," she hastily explained and I hummed impressed.

"Huh, gotta thank her for that." I raised my hands in a placating manner at her. "No worries, I'm not angry at you or her. You have your reasons, I know that."

Lili let out a sigh of relief, leaning back against the chair and I chuckled a bit.

I guess she knew I wasn't that close to the elf maid.

If Riveria was a friend, then Ryuu was…

Was…

I blinked at my table, furrowing my forehead.

What was she?

That one worker you regularly met in a subway after that one drunk night where you ranted your life at him and you sorta became acquaintances that way?

Maybe I should get to know her better. If only because she was Lili's friend now. And because I needed to change my before mentioned description of my relationship with her in something less complicated.

For now though...

Time to face the heat.

"So...I guess you want to hear my part of the story?" I asked, feeling drained already for just approaching the topic.

With my shoulders slumped, I was ready for her saying yes, more busy trying to think how to do this.

"Not really."

Because of that, her shrugging reply made me freeze.

I looked up in shock, seeing her with a small smirk.

Usually this was the part where I would wipe it off, physically or verbally.

Sadly, my brain was too busy restarting.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, tilting my head.

The girl awkwardly scratched her cheek, searching for the words.

"I mean...I can imagine what happened in there..." She carefully said and I did my best not to let out a dismissive snort. She took a deep breath and bit her lip. "And I'm sure it was terrible, so I won't force you to remember."

I smiled at her in a melancholy manner.

Too late for that, baby girl.

"Still...I guess I need to say this at least."

She stood up, hands formed into fists and she held her head high at me.

"It's not your fault. That's what I believe in...and I still believe in you," she explained softly and scratched her head then, awkwardness returning. "You...can tell me if you want to. But know that I won't think less of you, no matter what you choose."

For a while I stared at her, standing in front of me.

Her eyes were on me and they were filled with nothing but acceptance.

It was meant to be comforting.

So why was I barring my teeth and let out a small growl?

She noticed as well and backed off a bit, eyes wide in confusion and fear.

I tried to get a hold of myself, but my hands were still curled up in fists.

Then I realized why I reacted this way.

She didn't know anything. Those words didn't have the proper weight behind them.

Sparks in my chest became cinders that burned weakly, but burned nonetheless. Like an old friend it appeared and it supported me.

Supported me to make Lili see what I really was.

No idea who that old friend was, but I welcomed the surge of strength I got from it.

"Sit down," I ordered as calm as I could and folded my hands with a frown. "I'll tell you. For completion's sake."

Weirdly, I didn't fall into a flashback this time. Not like the last one.

This one was more...controlled.

The heat in my chest grew when I saw the girl look at me with concern.

I took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll start from the beginning..."

Originally, I left Boundary for two reasons. One, to find out more about the dungeon. Failed that one already. Two, because it was supposed to be my vacation. Also failed that one.

Anyway, as always, I joined up with a group as a supporter. Was rather big, ten people or so. Enough for a small expedition.

A small expedition it was.

They had a mission to investigate weird monster activities on the Middle Floors, below Rivira.

Naturally, I took part in it. I always did with missions that sounded interesting.

Not that I wanted to fight. I left it to others. It was my vacation after all.

The group consisted of one family and they weren't too keen of having an outsider with them. Still, they needed supporters and I build up quite the reputation of being an ace in the sleeve, so they endured my shitty younger self.

And yes, that was like two years ago. Point still stands.

Anywho, the trip down was rather uneventful. I observed the walls, wrote down any new weaknesses in monsters while carrying shit.

That went on until we went past Under Resort and I spotted something weird.

A part of the wall looked more organic than the rest. Like it was hiding something.

Naturally, I wanted to check it out.

Alone, because I was not close to that group and the mission was to search further into the dungeon.

"It'll be fine, you guys! Just go ahead!"

Those words signed their death sentence.

It was a distraction. At least to me.

I spent too much time on it, too focused on investigating something I didn't have the ability to investigate…

They were too far away when I heard their screams. Barely.

It cost precious time.

When I arrived, it was a picture from hell.

Weird, long plants with heads similar to lions, coiled around, all over the area. Their skins repelled their weapons and there was an army.

And they were ripping the group apart.

It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before.

It was the first time I caused this however.

I tried. Tried to save those were still alive.

Most of it was a blur to me, but I know I fought like my own life depended on it.

Lightning burned through them like butter, the air filled with the smoke of their burned bodies.

My axe cut into their flesh. All around me their parts were flying, splattering me with their green blood.

Their attacks did almost nothing to me. I could take it.

I was faster as well. Dodging was no big issue.

It wasn't enough. None of it was.

The adventurers I worked with were a large group.

But they were only level two, with one level three.

They were not as tough or as fast as me. I managed to attract most of them…

But most weren't all of them.

By the end of it, I was the only living thing still standing, covered in blood of allies and enemies alike.

"And this is the story. How I got all those people killed. People I don't even remember the names of. I don't even remember their faces. Just...corpses."

I took a shuddering breath and leaned back, closing my eyes.

That wasn't so bad, considering the memories.

Pat yourself on the back, Obsidian. You only sweated a bit and your fingers dug into your flesh just a little. And hyperventilated slightly.

Pretty good day, actually.

Lili stared at me with wide eyes, the reaction I expected. She worked her jaw a few times, and shook her head in disbelief.

"Don't remember? How-"

A dry snort from me interrupted me and I rubbed my forehead with a sigh, sarcastic grin on my face.

"Alcoholic for the...I don't know, first month or so. Sadly, blessing made me immune real quick. Even soma didn't work after a while." A sigh escaped me and I twirled my right hand. "After that...I decided to keep on living. Do my best to gather information and sent them back home."

Not that I did a good job for that.

There was only that much intel I could get while not stepping into the dungeon myself.

I looked up and felt that burn in my chest again.

Why was she looking at me with those sympathetic eyes?

Slowly, she shook her head.

"Teacher...You aren't weak."

Immediately, I shook my head at her soft spoken words and looked up at the ceiling, chuckling darkl.

"As a fighter? You're right. As a decent leader? Not even remotely." I pointed at the window, in the direction of Babel with a snort. "Everyone died in there. I couldn't save a single one of them."

"Is...that the first time?" She asked in hesitation and I shook my head again.

If only it were that.

"No. Plenty of people died under my command or protection. But in all those cases..." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I did my best. That time?" I opened them again and let my shoulders hang low. "Not even remotely. It's not that I didn't have the ability to save them. It was that I didn't save them despite that."

My vision became blurry and I felt the warm drops leaving me.

Shuddering, I tried to take a calming breath.

It only somewhat worked.

"I got cocky," I whispered and stared at the table. "And...I'm not sure if I can rely on myself ever again. What if I make the same mistake again? I wouldn't handle it..."

I felt something touch my hand. Looking up, I saw the Pallum gently grasping it.

"You can rely on others. They can...make up for it." She paused and pointed at herself. "You can rely on me."

"Can I?" I hissed out.

Lili flinched, letting go of my hand and anger flared up in her eyes, but she reigned it in.

My expression became softer at that.

Atta girl.

Still, I needed to drive the point home.

I gestured at her, weakly because I felt so damn tired already.

"Can I rely on you not to become another specter that haunts me if I even look at the dungeon? Can I rely on you that you won't become another reason for me not to look myself in the mirror?" My hand fell down like a puppet losing its strings and I turned away from her, blank expression at the wall. "I tried, Liliruca. I tried so many times. Every time...it's the same. Like chains, they pull me away from the entrance. Even if I wanted to...I get stopped every single time."

I rested my forehead on my heads, my eyes half open as my body felt more drained than ever before just from talking.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do it anymore. I'm too tired..." I sighed and closed my eyes. "Someday maybe, but I don't know when that happens."  
"Do...do your comrades know?" I heard her say and I summoned up the strength to nod weakly.

"They do. And they are trying their best to help me, limited as it is," I muttered and tried to wave her concerns off. It appeared more like a weak vibration of my left hand before it slammed to the table. "I don't blame them for not being here. They have their responsibilities and I understand that completely."

By all means, I should say more. Like this wasn't as bad as other anniversaries. That I had Lili. Riveria and the others…

But I couldn't. I...just wanted her to go.

So I stayed silent, waiting patiently.

At last, I heard her stand up and slowly go to her room.

I was about to let out a sigh of relief, when she suddenly stopped.

"I still believe in you. And I will prove to you that you can rely on me."

With those heated words, she closed her door.

Instead of blissful silence, I had a silence filled with regret.

I grit my teeth and sucked in a lot of air.

"Damn brat..."

She was only making it harder…

Liliruca Arde deserved better than me.

I turned my head slightly, looking at my open bed door.

If she went to bed, I should as well. It would make her worry less.

Like a zombie, I moved to my bed and fell down on it. Might as well be comfortable for a flashback.

Turning around, I stared at the ceiling for a while. Then I closed my eyes when I ran out of strength to keep them open.

I began to rub my chest as it began to hurt a bit. Like a small burn, just like the cinders from before.

It felt familiar yet again, but I didn't dwell too long on it before I attempted to fall asleep.

For once, I did not have any nightmares that night.

Instead, I dreamed of my first days in the unforgiving snow lands.


	6. Chapter 6

**Go Beyond 6.1**

It's been two days since Lili heard the story of Obsidian.

She still felt the same ever since she went to bed.

Annoying, deep frustration.

A groan escaped her as she wandered the streets, her steps a slow march as her eyes were half open.

Gods, she did not expect him revealing it that easily. It's almost like he did it just to spite her.

To be honest, the way he barred his teeth and seemed pissed at the very least, Lili suspected that was the actual reason.

Not that she was mad herself, she thought with a small smile.

Anger was preferred to depression.

She preferred him not looking so defeated all the time.

Even if he was.

Her smile fell and she kicked a stone away in her path with a sigh.

She had no idea how to help him. Sure, Lili said she would prove him wrong...but how?

How could she make him see that he could rely on her?

The girl had an idea, but she wasn't sure about it...

It would be a hard path to convince him. The trauma was greater than she expected, preventing him from fighting in the dungeon at all until his comrades would take care of it.

Which could take ages.

Because of that, it was her responsibility to solve this.

He wasn't completely gone after all. Else he wouldn't have stayed in Orario at all, obligation or not.

"Lili? Everything okay?"

The concerned voice shook the girl out of her musings and Lili looked to her left, blinking for a moment.

Her fellow adventurer and supporter leaned forward, inspecting the Pallum's face with a deep frown.

"Lisa," Lili said and came to a stop. Then she let out a sigh. "I...talked with teacher."

The supporter's eyes widened in surprise and she tilted her head.

"He told you? Everything?"

"Yes," Lili confirmed dryly and clicked her tongue. "And I'm pissed."

"That bad?" Lisa asked with a wince and Lili nodded before they came to a stop.

"That bad." The Pallum waved her hand casually at what, or rather who, she saw. "Hey Welf."

The blacksmith leaned against the wall, near the Hostess of Fertility and raised his hand in greeting as well. Then he raised an eyebrow at her hunched shoulders.

"Wow, still in a bad mood?" He pointed at the girl next to Lili. "Is it because Lisa here cancelled us two times already?"

"Hey!" The girl in question shouted in objection and the Pallum shook her head in minor amusement.

It wasn't like any of them were in thee real mood to go into the dungeon anyway.

The Pallum basically didn't have much motivation for it, busy with what happened two days ago. Welf needed to do his blacksmith thing in order to keep his skills from rusting, while Lisa did...something. Maybe she helped out at New Age?

Lili had no idea.

All she knew was that she offered Welf to sell his weapons in order to get him more fame, but beyond that, all three of them didn't interact much with each other lately.

Either way, she herself was not peeved at not going to the dungeon lately. Shaking her head, she let out a sigh.

"No, it's...about the thing we talked about in the Hostess."

Lisa and Welf made an "ah" sound and nodded in understanding. The latter crossed his arms.

"Oh, your old man." He bit his lip awkwardly. "Well, not gonna barge in that, but if you wanna talk, I can lend an ear."

"Same," Lisa replied and raised her hand. Lili smiled at them with appreciation.

Then the supporter put her hands on her hips, frowning at the blacksmith.

"And for the cancelling, I have good reasons."

"Are they as good as the reason why you called us here?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow and threw his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the building. Lisa in turn giggled.

"It's a surprise~!"

With those words, she opened the entrance to the inn and turned around, spreading her arms with a wide smile.

"Surprise!"

Lili and Welf looked past her. Both raised their eyebrow.

In the middle of the somewhat busy area, they saw Hestia.

What caused their reaction however, was what she was doing.

Or rather, with whom.

Getting fed by the goddess with a spoon of pudding, a young man with short white hair and red eyes blushed as he accepted his fate as he was surrounded by the eyes of many jealous patrons. From what Lili could estimate, he was not that much bigger than Hestia. Maybe a head bigger.

To be honest, the guy looked a bit plain, aside from his hair and eyes.

A brow coat with long sleeves and a black patch on his right side of his neck. Underneath, she could see a black shirt that fit with his black pants.

Overall, not really fancy.

Anyway, the two turned to Lisa again and Welf crossed his arms with a dry expression.

"So your goddess is flirting with another guy. And?"

Lisa frowned in confusion and turned around to look at what they were seeing. Then she let out a huff and rolled her eyes before she led them to the table.

Coming to a stop in front of her deity, the girl turned around with her hands on her hips.

"They're not flirting. She's just feeding him, nothing wrong with that." She glanced at the two people in question with a smirk. "Right?"

Only now did Hestia and her male companion notice the trio.

The former stared at them like a frozen statue, spoon still in hand and inside the boy's mouth. The latter on the other hand had more control over himself and quickly spat the spoon out, face turning into a tomato ass he frantically shook his hands and spluttered intelligible words.

The deity in the meantime managed to gain her wits again and calmly put the spoon down with a serious expression, looking at her first child.

"...Of course. Just feeding," Hestia at last said in an even tone after a long pause. Instantly, Lisa pointed at her accusingly with a glare.

"That answer took too long! How suspicious is that, goddess?!" She yelled, ignoring any stares they received by other patrons.

Lili and Welf gave each other a knowing, exasperating look before they sat down, the new guy in between them after he distanced himself from his family with a fearful and confused expression.

The Pallum couldn't help but give him a sympathetic glance.

He would suffer from this a lot.

"Not suspicious at all!" Hestia shouted back with a blush, crossing her arms. This only caused the supporter to slam her hands on the table.

"Denial makes it worse!" Dramatically, she put her right hand on her forehead as she pretended to become dizzy as she leaned back. "I thought my lady was pure, but it turned out she was a devious vixen!"

"I can explain, my child! Please, believe me!" Hestia cried back, tugging helplessly at her child's sleeve, who ignored her with a huff.

Okay, Lili had enough by then.

Clapping her hands, the two drama queens turned to her.

The student crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you two done?"

Lisa turned to her goddess, who shrugged casually, all dramatics forgotten.

"Mostly," the former replied in a dismissive tone, sitting down while her deity nodded.

"Good, because I'm starving," Welf said, sharing the Pallum's thoughts and Hestia smiled at the two of them, pretending as if nothing happened.

"I already ordered, so food should be here any time now." She giggled and gestured at the boy in front of her. "For now, let me introduce the second child of my family."

Having the focus on him now, he stood up quickly and ran over to his goddess side, before bowing with a blush.

"I'm Bell Cranel! It-it's an honor to meet you!"

Lili couldn't help but smile at that.

She had to admit, that was cute.

Welf seemed to share her opinion as he chuckled in amusement and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Yikes, don't be so nervous. You're among friends here."

His worse only calmed Bell down a bit, so Lili decided to cut in with her own small bow.

"Liliruca Arde. A pleasure."

Seeing what she was doing, the blacksmith mimicked her motion, only more slack than her.

"Welf Crozzo. Nice to meet you, kid."

For some reason however, Bell didn't smile or relax.

Instead he frowned at them a bit.

"I-I'm not a kid! I'm eighteen!" He objected with a pout, not noticing how his goddess or his senior covered their mouths to hide their gigle.

Lili and Welf glanced at each other with a raised eyebrow and turned back to the newbie.

"Really?" The latter asked in a skeptical tone, voicing out both of their thoughts.

"Yeah!" Bell yelled in indignation, hands on the table as he leaned forward.

He didn't seem to lie, so the Pallum crossed her arms with an interested hum.

"Don't look your age, unlike me," she commented and Welf nodded in agreement.

Just when Bell was to say something again, Lisa barked out a loud laugh before slapping his back so hard he tumbled over for a moment.

"It's not his fault he looks like a cute rabbit!"

"Rabbit?" Lili asked and she and her seat neighbor leaned forward with narrowed eyes as the newbie tried to stop his own coughing.

Moments later, the two of them leaned back in astonishment.

"Huh," Lili let out.

"I can see that," Welf said at the same time and the victim in question gave sent them a frown.

It would have been maybe intimidating if he wasn't so cute as he puffed up his cheeks.

"I'm not a rabbit!"

"But you are cute enough to be one, Bell," a female voice called out everyone's thoughts and they all turned to the silver haired maid, who giggled at the blushing boy.

"Syr!"

"Well, I'm here to bring you your food," Syr explained, putting down the big plate on the table, before turning her attention back to Bell.

Lili raised an eyebrow.

Wow, two girls already.

It was almost like one of those books Obsidian read.

She wasn't even sure why he read them. He agreed with her that most "harem" stories were crap.

As the food got served and Bell was somehow managing to flirt with two girls at once without even realizing it, something that Lisa and Welf both found hilarious and worthy enough to make bets on, her eyes wandered.

Those eyes stopped when they met sky blue ones.

She blinked.

Ryuu blinked.

For a while, they stared at each other, Lili in confusion and the elf in her usual neutral way.

Then, the latter motioned her head to the side.

Lili followed the motion and saw her gesturing at Syr.

Turning back, she saw Ryuu make a heart symbol with her hands. The Pallum had to suppress a giggle at her neutral expression.

Her amusement vanished when the elf glanced at her maid friend again and she couldn't help but gape.

The student wished she was wrong, but…

Apparently Ryuu Lion wanted her help to hook up Syr.

Immediately, Lili shook her head with a frown.

Ryuu nodded with a blank expression.

Lili shook her head again, frown intensifying.

Ryuu nodded again, blank expression intensifying.

"I'm not doing it," the Pallum mouthed at her, disbelief written all over her face.

The maid tilted her head, as if asking "why not?"

Lili rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead in frustration. Then, she made sure to sigh in an exaggerated manner, as if she was very tired.

The elf stared at her for a moment, before closing her eyes in surrender and turning away.

Lili had to admit, that was weird. And surprisingly, nobody seemed to notice them do their thing.

With that over, she turned back to the "feast", just in time as Welf crossed his arms behind his back with a lazy smirk.

"So, what's your story?"

Bell froze at that question, stopping his struggle to free himself from Lisa's headlock.

Lili blinked at that. What did she miss?  
Well, Syr was gone and Hestia had her back to the boy.

Sounded like drama she did not care about.

Either way, the young man was released and he scratched his right cheek awkwardly.

"Uhm..."

He was shy, the Pallum nodded with a small smile. Leaning forward, she made sure to look at him as gentle as possible.

Bell did look like he needed friends. Who was she to deny him that?

"No one's going to judge," she said in a calm tone.

He looked at her, then at the other people sitting at the table.

They all smiled at him as well.

Nodding slowly, Bell took a deep breath.

"Okay….well..."

With that, he told his story.

How he lived on the country side with his grandfather in peace, the man who told him so many stories and cared for him like he was his actual grandson.

How he got killed while Bell was gone and with that had nothing that held him in his small town.

How he spent a long time finding a family, only to be rejected by every single one of them.

And how, in the end, he met Hestia and with that Lisa.

To be honest, it was a touching story, straight out of a book, Lili thought with a soft expression.

His family obviously had the same expression on their faces, warmly looking at their newest member as he blushed at the memory.

After that, the adventurers at the table talked about their "dreams" to further break the ice.

Welf, with his dream to become more than his family name and crafting equipment with his own skill.

Lisa, wanting to discover all the unknown that the dungeon had to offer.

And Lili...with her urge to be free and becoming stronger.

She had to admit, it wasn't as grand as other dreams.

Lastly, they turned to the newcomer, who scratched his head awkwardly.

"My dream..." Bell hesitated and took a deep breath as he looked down on the table. "I...I want to be a hero."

That made everyone raise their eyebrow at that. Sharing glances with each other, the group remained in silence as the boy awkwardly squirmed in his seat.

"A hero?" Lisa asked in a quiet tone, for some reason looking very somber.

"Yes!" Bell declared with innocent excitement, not noticing her sudden shift of mood and raised his fist. "Someone that goes on adventurers and saves fair maidens! Fight alongside cute girls and cool guys as their slay monsters!

All the females at the table couldn't help but sweat drop at his words.

That sounded…rather naive.

And a bit like those harem stories, Lili thought dryly.

Hopefully she was wrong.

Bell didn't seem like someone who could handle something like that. Not that she was interested anyway. Not in a million years. He wasn't her type. Maybe in the past, but exposure to Obsidian killed off any childish crushes rather quickly.

He didn't do anything directly, but his idea of love sounded a lot...better than she imagined before.

A very high standard, so Lili didn't want to throw her own "love" around like pocket change to honor that idea.

The other male on the other hand…

He barked out a loud laugh and held his stomach.

"Well, that does sound like the dream for a man!" He raised his fist with a smirk. "I like you, buddy!"

With a small blush, Bell awkwardly hit it lightly with his own fist, before biting his lip.

"There...is another reason."

Perking up, he had the table's full attention as he folded his hands.

"A hero...helps people. Inspires them to be more and go beyond their limits. They can do everything, if they try hard enough." He took in a deep breath and smiled softly. "I...I want to be someone like that. So that...people like me can be given hope, just like my grandfather gave me."

He looked around, seeing stunned faces everywhere. With a blush, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "So...yeah...t-that's why I want to be a hero."

For a while, they sat there like that.

Then Welf raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"You're pretty open with that."

Bell in turned chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"W-well, a girl I met told me gi-I mean people like those who are not afraid to show their dreams to the public."

"It is cute," Hestia commented with a smirk, making him pout at her. Her smirk only intensified.

Lili had to agree with the deity, it was.

It was also admirable, something that Welf seemed to share when she glanced at him.

"Are you sure?"

Because of that, it was shocking that it was Lisa to ask that kind of question. Turning to her, the Pallum had to admit she never saw her that serious before, as she rested her chin on the table with a frown.

Bell gulped in confusion, but the supporter raised her right hand in a calming manner. Still, her frown was still in place.

"The path of the hero is a tough one. Tougher than anything else. Failure at some point is a guarantee. Are you sure you are up to it? To withstand it?" She asked in a somber tone.

Lili narrowed her eyes. Where did that come from?

Surprisingly, the newcomer in question shook of his confusion and nodded with fire in his eyes.

"Yes. It's what I want the most."

For a moment, Lisa stared at him passively.

Then she sighed and leaned back in her chair, smile on her face.

"Well, then I need to work hard to help you with that, hm?"

"Lisa?" Lili asked with concern and she shook her head with a snort.

"Sorry...it's just..." She gave the Pallum a pointed look. "A hero I know fell from grace, you know?"

The student's breath stopped for a moment.

Obsidian Noir.

Her mind went back to his confession.

A broken man. A person in need of help. They both knew it. But neither did any of them know how.

She glanced at Bell, who tilted his head in worry.

Bell wanted to be a hero.

Could she be one as well?

Helping people.

Do the impossible and go past her limits.

Helping her teacher.

She didn't know how, but did she need to?

Heroes saved people. Period. No how or why.

Lili let out a dry snort, smile in place.

Maybe she should simplify her life for once and do it the "childish" way. The Pallum did tell her teacher she would make him rely on her.

The decision was made.

Now to share it.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward, arms on the table.

"Guys...I...need to tell you something."

Having their attention, she decided to rip the bandage off quickly.

"Let's to go to the Middle Floors."

The reactions came instantly.

Shock and worry on the deity.

Surprise and awe on the newcomer.

And…

Knowing smirks on her teammates. Lisa giggled on her hand, while Welf crossed his arms behind his head.

"Why the change of heart?"

She could already tell they shared her determination. This was just formality.

Lili glanced at Bell with a grin.

"Let's say Bell motivated me here."

"Heh?" He asked, pointing at himself.

The blacksmith nodded in agreement.

"Adventurers need to take risks to level up...And man, Bell did fire me up! I'm in!"

"Heeeeh?" Bell let out again, confusion intensifying.

"I'm not sure you should do this..." Hestia quietly objected, crossing her arms in disapproval. Despite the fact she looked at each of them, she only had power over one person.

Said person gently put her hand on the goddess' shoulder.

"Lady Hestia," Lisa began respectfully and then smirked. "Surviving against impossible odds is a specialty of Boundary citizens. It is a common trait among us that we are too stubborn to die."

Hestia bit her lips at the words, torn about it.

On the other hand, the Pallum frowned.

Seriously, Lili had to see someday what made Boundary so dangerous herself.

Anyway, Lisa glanced at Bell with a small, more honest smile.

"Besides, I have to teach my little junior, right?" She turned back to her deity and bowed slightly. "We'll be fine."

Hestia stared at her for a moment, before raising her hands in surrender.

"Very well. Who am I to stop you?" She sighed out.

The newcomer on the other hand stood up and raised his hand with a small frown.

Immediately, Lisa cut him off with a shake of her head.

"The Middle Floors are no joke. It's too dangerous for a beginner like you," she explained in a serious tone, before smiling at him gently. "I promise we'll party up in the future, as long as you help out our family. Alright?"

"Alright..." Bell said with hunched shoulders, before looking up with worry. "Be careful!"

So apparently Bell suffered from adventurer excitement as well.

Not that Lili suffered from it.

Not at all. Totally didn't need saving as well.

Anyway, with that, the team of "experienced" adventurers stood up from their seats and exited the Hostess, though no before paying for their share.

On their way out, Lili made eye contact with Ryuu. The elf gave her a curt nod and held her fist near her chest.

Lili mimicked the motion, accepting her thoughts with gratitude.

With determination, the trio walked down the streets, ready for new adventurers.

Then, they all came to a sudden stuff, their grins frozen in place as they looked at each other.

Or rather, looked at what they didn't have.

"We forgot our stuff, didn't we?" Lili asked with a strained smile shared by all of them.

"Meet up in an hour?" Hesitant nods and Lisa bit her lip, nodding as well. "Alrighty then."

Well, that was awkward, Lili thought as they separated.

* * *

 **Go Beyond 6.2**

No matter how many times she went through here, Lili hated this mist. With a sigh, she cleaned of her dagger from the Imp blood, before turning around to her companions. They in turn dusted themselves off from the little skirmish, about as winded as the Pallum was.

Which was not at all, since they focused on advancing instead of farming and thus saved up their strength and avoided unnecessary fights. They wouldn't be able to carry all the stuff anyway, considering they were going to focus on Middle Floor drops, which were more valuable than anything on the Upper Floors.

Anyway, nodding at each other, the trio turn to the barrier they planned to overcome today. The line between level one and level two were in front of them. The entrance to the Middle Floors.

Lili couldn't help but gulp, feeling the same anxiety she felt when she entered the dungeon as an adventurer for the first time.

"Well...here we are," she lamely said, trying to relax. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the others with a serious expression. "Check the equipment. Everything ready?"

"Salamander wool still kicking, blade still in my hand," Welf replied with a grin, tapping his shoulder with his blade. Still, Lili could see that he was more tense than usual.

Speaking of tense, Lisa was the very opposite of that as she whistled while checking her bag.

"Combat ready. No potions used yet and shield plus wool are still dandy." The supporter let out a small hum, before nodding in satisfaction and putting the baggage back on her back. "Reserve weapons also still there."

"Liberty right here and everything seems fine," the Pallum replied, twirling her dagger in her fingers and checking her own clothes and armor. Then she raised an eyebrow at the giant bag and pointed her dagger at it. "You sure you can carry all that?"

"High enough stats, I'll be fine," Lisa waved her off and Lili nodded.

With that the silence returned, the trio awkwardly glancing at each other with the occasional clearing of a throat.

"Sooo...what now?" The blacksmith asked, scratching the back of his head. Lili sighed in turn. Right, no use stalling any longer. With that in mind, she crossed her arms with a determined look.

"We should have a formation. Can't afford having none when we go in."

Lisa immediately nodded in agreement, before moving her finger around as she assigned roles.

"Right. Welf goes to the front, I take the back and you take the middle," she suggested in a serious tone. Lili scratched her chin. Sounded solid enough.

However, Welf crossed his arms with a small frown and tilted his head.

"Any particular reason?"

"The two of us a tough cookies, but one trick ponies," Lisa replied as she gestured between each other. Then she paused and raised her right hand in an apologizing manner. Though her face was completely blank when she did so. "No offense."

"None taken," Welf shrugged back.

"Well, I am more versatile than you guys and I can fill the gaps in…Right, let's do it this way. We can switch it up if we need to."

With those words said, they positioned themselves in a line. Welf turned his head to the girls behind him and they all nodded. Then, they all began to walk through the entrance into the next floor, the thirteenth one.

Lili looked around, eyes narrowed in anticipation, waiting for the monsters to appear. Though her anticipation got quickly replaced by annoyance.

Everything looked the damn same, excluding the mist. Also, there weren't any monsters. All that preparation and talk to raise the spirits made all of this feel...

"Kinda anticlimactic," Lisa finished the Pallum's thoughts with a frown, though she didn't relax, gods bless her soul. "Expected sudden attack the moment we stepped in. New area, triumphant music. Now I feel stupid."

As the girl let out a sigh, Lili couldn't help but agree to her. She should have known better. This was the dungeon, not a theater. It wouldn't give her an epic show on demand like in a best seller. Hearing Welf chuckle dryly at that, it appeared he felt the same.

Before she could think more about this, the familiar sound of walls cracking filled her ears. The group immediately tensed up again, though Lili had to roll her eyes. As if taking her disappointment as a challenge, the dungeon decided to throw monsters right this instance. The rumors of the dungeon being very spiteful appeared to be true.

"Well, guess we are gonna earn our pay after all," Welf said with a smirk, blade in front of him as he licked his lips. Lili in turned twirled Liberty and then took her naginata stance, with Lisa behind her, arm ready to throw or block with her shield.

Just in time, because the walls broke completely and revealed wolf like creatures growling at them, fire filling their mouths. The Pallum clicked her tongue at that.

"Hell Hounds..." She muttered and Welf groaned in front of her.

"Ugh, I heard about them. Fire breathing mutts."

But there were also other creatures behind the hounds and Lili narrowed her eyes.

"And..." She trailed off, blinking at what she saw. Lisa didn't had the same issues as she squealed in delight.

"Mini Bells!"

Indeed, there were cute white rabbits behind the hounds. Cute white rabbits brandishing axes.

"Huh, they do look like Bell," the Pallum admitted and Welf nodded as well.

"I can see the resemblance."

"You guys think he was born in the dungeon?" Lisa asked with a giggle. However, she got cut off rather quickly when she yelped and quickly moved her shield to deflect a fast moving projectile at her. She clicked her tongue and rolled her shoulder with a frown, looking at the offending rabbit that threw the weapon. "Feisty, aren't ya?"

With that, the monsters ran towards them, the hounds howling a war cry.

"Let's get to work then," Lili shouted and rushed forward as well with her team. "Static!"

The lightning filled her weapon and without missing a beat, she dashed forward, overtaking Welf in an instance.

The formation idea was a guideline at most anyway, especially with so few enemies and she was the wildcard of the team anyway.

With that in mind, she jumped and with her hands above her head, she jammed the blade down, directed at the first Hell Hound. To her surprise however, she only grazed the monster as it jumped away and her magic only made it flinch a bit. The next moment, her instincts screamed at her to raise her guard. Doing just that, covering her head with her arms, it was just in time to make sure her face wasn't scorched by the fire another Hell Hound spat after her.

She hissed when her arm guards increased in heat, but not enough to burn her. What did burn however, were the small areas in her face that she couldn't protect against. Still, her defense was strong enough to make it a minor inconvenience.

Another inconvenience however was that the flame was strong enough to actually push her back in the air, causing her to roll backwards on the ground and brandishing her dagger to react immediately.

Alright, those were tougher, Lili thought dryly. Made sense, since this were unofficially level two grounds. Nothing she or her team couldn't handle though as long as they were careful.

Careful, as in not getting another salve of fire against her coat. Sure, it protected her, but it still made her uncomfortably sweaty. At least it didn't cancel her skill, since she appeared to have "successfully" blocked it. To be honest, the mechanics of Infinite Skill were weird, though her teacher disagreed for some reason. Called it a "combo meter", whatever that was.

Her inner monologue got interrupted when the Hell Hounds saw their chance and lunged after her.

Better for her. She didn't need to hunt after them.

Two in the front, another coming from the left side and a rabbit about to throw its axe at her through the gap. Focus on the two hounds in the front first.

Reverse grip, ram the blade to the right. Since it made the same mistake as her, speak being in the air, the mutt could not avoid the dagger in its eye.

Electrocute it, and use motion to fall to the right. Roll with it and kick up against the stomach of the hound. Shock it as well. Two dead. Next hound took in a deep breath as her back was on the ground.

No time to dodge.

Didn't need to.

"Burn out, forbidden arts...Will O Wisp!"

Welf's voice sounded with focus, words filled with power. The next moment, a burst of flame shot through the area, this time from behind her. The flame hit the hound that charged up its own flame. Lili narrowed her eyes when she saw that the fire didn't do a lot of damage.

Then the dog promptly exploded.

The Pallum blinked.

Magic that caused Ignis Fatuus, the effect that occurred when one's magic went out of control and blew the user up. How handy.

Jumping up, Lili's eyes widened before she groaned. Now there was only the axe thrown at the Pallum.

Try to divert axe with arm guards, injury guarantee-

Diverting not needed, shield deflected axe, before bouncing against the wall and making a bee line at the offending rabbit, who lost its head soon after. Then the equipment in question flew back to Lisa's arm.

Not seeing any alive enemies anymore, Lili checked on the others, while questioning since when the supporter's shield bounced off objects with a raised eyebrow.

She chalked it up to magic.

Anyway, Welf was a bit out of breath as he heaved his blade back on his shoulder. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to using magic. In front of him were two dissolving halves of a Hard Armored, a monster with a hard shell on its back with the tendency to use roll attacks.

Lisa didn't look any better. She was even more out of breath then Welf, as she supported herself on her knees. It appeared that monsters appeared around her and because of that the shield came rather late for Lili's taste.

As they regrouped after picking up their loot and caught their breath, it was Lisa who got the first word. Putting her left hand on her hip, she raised an eyebrow at the blacksmith.

"Since when did you have magic?"

Welf in turn chuckled and moved his right wrist a bit in demonstration.

"Only useful against the buggers with their own magic. Make them blow up," he explained with a shrug and Lisa let out an intrigued grunt. The blacksmith then groaned and rolled his shoulder before letting out a sigh. "Alright, that was...pretty tough. A bit, at least."

"Guess the Middle Floors are on another level," Lisa commented and grinned at him. The Pallum let out an annoyed groan after a small pause, but the blacksmith did not share her decency to hate puns. The opposite, he raised his fist and Lisa hit it with her own.

"Good one."

As the two of them laughed, Lili narrowed her eyes at them. They already had some exhaustion from just one or two enemies, why she felt relatively fine. Crossing her arms, and as much as she disliked it, she decided to ask the question.

"Should we turn back?" At their shocked expressions, she bit her lip. "I mean, you guys seemed like you had some trouble and it only gets harder."

The two teammates shared a glance and then collectively shrugged at her. Lisa raised her arms with a soft smile.

"Well, you're the boss, so if you want to?"

Lili blinked at the girl's words.

"I am?" She asked in an incredulous tone and the two of them raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh, we never did decided it, did we?" Lisa muttered and scratched her chin. Then she shook her head and crossed her arms in explanation. "Anyway, we need a chain of command, so to say. And you have the longest experience out of all of us."

"Yes, on the Upper Floors," the Pallum replied, putting emphasis on the "upper" with a frown, ignoring the unknown, ugly feeling in her chest.

Anyway, the supporter waved her off and pointed at herself, then back at Welf.

"Still more than me or Welf. I only boss around with numbers."

"And I'm a blacksmith. We focus more on good weapons than planning. Always thought you were the leader of the group," the man added casually.

Lili in turn cleared her throat awkwardly and averted her gaze as she scratched her cheek.

"A-alright, I guess…"

"Daw, are you blushing?"

Her face heating up, the student made sure not to look at either of the two guys. They were having stupid grins on their faces anyway, so with a huff, she walked forward.

"So!" Clapping her hands and with a voice that was definitely not too loud, she pointed ahead, trying to get the red off her face. "Let's keep going then."

She was not trying to escape their mocking laughter. Not at all.

Anywho, the trio carefully made their way through the floor, their eyes moving all over the place to make sure they did not miss anything. However, after a while, all three of them become uneasy due to one single realization.

No more monsters. No other groups. Just pure silence.

It was almost as if the dungeon test-

Lili frantically shook her head. Nope. Not going there. She knew better than tempting fate. Her teacher made sure it was beaten in her head. Glancing at Lisa, the supporter seemed to share the sentiment and nodded knowingly.

Sadly, the two of them forgot that the group did not merely consist of girls that were not meat heads.

"Eh, will be a peace of cake then to reach the next floor, ey?" Welf said with a smirk, trying to ease their nerves.

What it accomplished was the opposite.

The two girls had blank looks when they stared at the blacksmith. The latter sweated nervously when he glanced at them. At the same time, the two of them slowly shook their heads.

"You did not say that," the girls said in a perfect synchronizing manner and the man flinched back at the creepiness. However, he did not manage to get a counter out.

Because a loud crack sounded. Followed by many others.

The trio slowly glanced around, hoping their ears were playing with them. That was not so.

"Oh, of course there is a monster party," Lili said in a dry tone as the walls all around them broke down completely all at once.

* * *

 **Go Beyond 6.3**

Fate.

Considering that gods descended to the mortal world, it was a concept that wasn't easily dismissed. Many wondered if fate included the gods or if they were exempted of it. If they were in full control of it or if they were ignorant of it as well.

Still, Lili believed in fate. It wasn't out of naivete, like a dream of someday becoming a great warrior because she was destined or something. But she believed in the kind of fate that screwed people over. Her circumstances of birth for example, she would call a bad fate. As was the fact that she was part of the Soma family.

So, one could say the Pallum was well acquainted with fate and because of that, not a lot could shock her anymore. With Obsidian's training and his own experiences, it only reinforced that believe of fate.

Why was she thinking about it, you may ask?

Long story short, fate decided Lili had it too well for a while and decided to be an enraged filthy bitch about it by sending a monster party at her face.

Gritting her teeth, her arm didn't stop moving for the past minute, her naginata twirling around like a wheel with blades on both ends, moving down as many enemies as possible in front of her.

The moment the wall cracked and the monsters spilled out, they immediately dashed back the way they came, with Lili at the front for being the fastest in killing stuff, if they would get in the way. Lisa covered them from behind, making sure neither of them would get an axe in the spine or something similar, while Welf would cover the sides. It was a rushed job, but it worked better than expected, considering neither of them were dead or close to it anyway.

Occasionally Lili switched to a dual head hammer if the Hard Armored came in her path to smash them. If she had to be honest, it was crude and her skill already stopped giving her anything substantial after the first couple of kills. However, she had no time for any fancy moves. The two people behind her relied on Lili to deal with her side, while they dealt with their own.

Easier said than done though.

"Piss off already!" Welf screamed enraged and Lisa concurred with her own yell of defiance, as the sound of flesh sounded, but was drowned underneath the monsters' own noises.

As much as she trusted her allies, it was fact that they were weaker than her.

Hell Hounds were priority. Their flames would make them slow down or stop entirely, if only because of the psychological effects. All the other monsters were either close combat or had projectiles that could be easily deflected. Eyes moving, she spotted another Hell Hound ready to fire to her right.

Too far away, weapon would need to be thrown. Suicidal. Improvise. Hard Armored rolling at her. Twirl to dodge and use own momentum to kick it at the side. Ball crashed into the wolf, the build up magic going out of control and promptly blew up the area. One down plus a couple more, gods knew how many left. Keep running.

Do not misunderstand her, the two were the strongest level one adventurers she had gotten to know thus far and was aware their stats were high, under normal circumstances. They had top notch equipment, including the mandatory salamander wool for the Middle Floors. Not to mention the fact that the two of them worked hard even outside the dungeon. Lili had enough bruises from her sparring matches with Lisa or when they both teamed up on Obsidian. Sure, they lost, but they did good considering the level gap.

However, all of these facts did not change one simple, more cruicial fact.

They were level one, in an area where even level two could die if they weren't careful. And they did not have a skill like the Pallum.

True, the amount of variation necessary for Infinite Shift was a lot more limited than the amount she usually dished out. Sure, Lili had to stick to monotone attacks and take as few risks as possible. However, she managed to squeeze in a different attack here and there, blocking when possible to get Infinite Shift as high as possible.

Rabbit getting to close for staff weapon. Immediately switch to dagger, sway back from lunge and cut its throat. Jump over Hard Armored, transform and jam the naginata into the armor. Surprise filled Lili's eyes when the blade actually pierced through the shell. Wonder about material of the blade later, use momentum of jump to throw the corpse to the levet side where another Hell Hound was, so that her allies woudn't stumble over it. Resume twirling.

If she had to guess, she already was on the lowest end of level two. That was more than enough to somewhat be safe, considering the monster party.

Her comrades however, did not have that advantage and it showed. Risking a glance behind her when she had enough space to breathe, she couldn't help but click her tongue in frustration.

No crippling injuries on them, that was good. But that was it. Their breath was already running out, considering the way the wheezed. Considering the stressful situation they were in, it was understandable. She could spot several cuts, all minor, on their bodies, but stacking nonethetless against mental and physical strength. Their formation began to break as well. It was miniscule, but she would be a crappy dungeon survivor if she couldn't spot the slightest hint of danger. And they were starting to separate, from the relentless attacks.

Snarling, she let the lightning go out of control for just a moment, letting it disperse in front of her like a struggling snake. It did zero damage, but it was enough to intimidate the monsters for a moment. Enough time to get the lightning back under control and swing her weapon to clear the path once more.

Speaking of path, that was another issue. They were getting surrounded. Either the monsters became faster or they were getting slower. Considering how much speed she had to hold back by now in order to not leave her allies behind, it was the latter. Because of that, her voice was slightly tinted with panic as she decided to address her allies.

"Any ideas?!" She shouted against the monster noise and let out a grunt as she had to parry an attack and jam her free, electrocuted hand into the rabbits eyes, before throwing it away. Honestly, she didn't expect anything but "keep killing" or "run faster" as replies at most.

But, to her pleasant surprise, her expectations were betrayed in a positive way.

"Got something for this!" Lisa yelled behind her and Lili could imagine her smirk, despite the exhaustion. "Welf, you take my shield, pick a one hander and cover us! Lili, I need you to do Welf's and my share for a moment!"

The Pallum's smile vanished from her face.

Wait, what?

It took all from her not to turn around, if only because another one of those damn mutts was about to breathe fire and she needed to kick another Hard Armored at it. If this went on, she could invent a sport with this kind of concept. Anyway, Lili already had her hands full with her own side and now she was supposed to do their workload as well?!

"Well, got nothing better to do, sure!"

And of course Welf agreed with the "plan", forcing the student into the minority. Because of that, she could not help but snark.

"Sure, want me to buy some jewelry while I'm at it?!" She screamed in frustration, deflecting the axe aiming at her face and stomping down on another rabbit.

"Thanks!" Lisa shouted back, not in equal sarcasm, but in actual relief. That made Lili almost pause.

There was no way the supporter would have missed her sarcasm. Unless she was so stressed she didn't notice. The Pallum clicked her tongue at the thought and grit her teeth.

Damn it, she could not say no to that. Lili could only hope the speed she had gathered up would be enough to make this work. It was simple, the girl thought as she took a deep breath. Focus on defending, instead of carving a path. More complex walk movements than a straight line. Use the opportunity to ramp up as much as possible.

The Pallum rolled her eyes as she smashed another shell ball into the left wall with her hammer Yeah, simple. Of course.

Nevertheless, she went to work.

Front was relatively clear, so she needed to focus on the sides. Her eyes went to the right, then to the left. Right side were more monsters. Gotta deal with that then.

Cutting to the right, she spun around and swung her naginata with all her might. Considering they were all running in a straight line, the monsters ran directly into her blade. If they had human intelligence, she knew they would have the classical "oh shit" expression.

Amusement aside, she used her momentum to spin vertically in the air, leaping over her comrades heads and covered their back by smashing her warhammer into the ground, buying them some distance as the monsters either dodged, got hit by flying rocks or were squashed like the poor, poor mutt.

Landing behind her comrades, she immediately picked up her speed. The sudden burst surprised her however and only the training drilled into her didn't make her stumble as she almost overtook her team completely.

Damn, how high were her stats already?

Still, no matter how high they were, it didn't change the fact that there were just so damn many. Lili felt like her kill count were reaching the triple digits and there were still monsters everywhere. And why was the hallway so long and the rooms so many?!

Luckily, Lisa's voice sounded in her ears like an angelic melody.

"Cover your ears and eyes for a sec on my mark. But don't stop running!"

Normally she would say hell no, especially with all the monsters around her. But, Lili was desperate, so she obediently prepared herself on whatever signal her friend was going to use.

"GRENADE!" Lisa screamed then, and Lili heard a small click behind her.

Well, the Pallum assumed that was the signal and quickly followed the instructions, holstering her dagger on her belt. Lili had no idea what a grenade was up until that point. Hell, she never even heard of the term before, but she assumed it was something loud.

Oh, how she underestimated Lisa's craziness.

The moment she got to know what it was, she decided to hate it. For one, it was _extremely_ loud. One moment, the monsters were yelling and something hit the ground. The next moment, it sounded like someone set off thousands of magic swords behind her, only without an actual explosion and shockwave that would follow that. She was sure if it weren't for her hands, she would have gone deaf from the noise. And that wasn't all of it. Despite her closed eyes, she could see the area light up brightly for just a moment. If she had looked at it, it would have probably been worse.

Anyway, as fast as it happened, it stopped and Lili took it as her cue to open her eyes and take her weapon out again. It was very satisfying to see the monsters around her, including the front, screaming in agony or tumbling around in a daze. Like kicking a baby, she killed the targets in front of her and for the first time since what felt like forever, her surroundings were not filled with monsters. Instead, she could see the beautiful, dry walls around her.

Taking that chance, she turned around and smirked at Lisa, who gave her a thumbs up. However, Welf did not take the situation in stride like the girls.

"What was that?!" He shouted, but his voice was a mix of shock and gratitude. Lisa flashed him a smile as she turned her head slightly.

"Boundary made. Basically a magic stone set to explode and disorient." Her smile wavered and she looked past Welf with concern. "Not gonna last long."

"Not long equals an eternity down here!" The blacksmith replied with a somewhat giddy voice and Lili had to agree. They already gained an immense advantage in distance, so they were pretty much safe unless something bad happened.

Naturally, something bad happened when she thought exactly that, as were the rules of fate.

"Seriously, I want a fea-"

Lisa did not manage to get her lighthearted comment out in time before the sound of flesh getting ripped sounded in Lili's ears. Instantly, the Pallum turned around and caught her screaming companion who clutched her left leg. Her eyes moved to the spot the supporter's hands were and flinched.

Yup, there was an axe imbedded into her lower leg. Quickly, she crouched next to her companion and reached into the supporter's backpack.

"Oh come on!" Lisa screamed, eyes filled in tears and bit her lip so hard it drew blood when Lili ripped it off before pouring all the healing potions onto it. Finishing her muffled screaming, she let out a loud gasp. "Fuck, this hurts!"

"Too deep for the potions!" The Pallum shouted when she saw that the bleeding stopped somewhat and the wound grew smaller, but did not vanish. She would have been surprised if her day went that well.

"Bandage it up and get a move on!" Welf shouted back at her, as the ground began to rumble more and more underneath them. Anyway, Lili wrapped the material tightly around Lisa's leg, not even bothered by her screams anymore, before nodding to herself in satisfaction.

"Alright, help her up and run!"

Not hesitating for a moment, the blacksmith appeared next to his injured comrade and the latter threw her right arm over his shoulder. At the same time, Lili took a few steps back and replaced Welf as the rear guard. She had to gulp at the sight of the monsters rushing at them and the moment her friends moved, she ran with them.

Well, less ran and more jogged, considering that Lisa could only limp at most. Discarding the bag that Welf was carrying wouldn't make a difference. Either he would need to carry her and be just as slow due to his own exhaustion or not carry her and let Lisa still limp around. The Pallum wracked her brain to come up with ideas, but nothing came.

"They're gaining on us!" Lili said out loud, trying to stimulate her thoughts with words. Then an idea came to her. After deflecting a few projectiles with a twirling naginata. "Lisa, do you have more of those grenade thingies?!"

The reply she received was disappointing, but expected.

"Nope, only had the one! Those things aren't cheap for civilians!" Lisa hissed in pain and shook her head before letting out a dry chuckle. "Guess neither of you know any speed buff spells?"

"At least you aren't doing the stupid "leave me behind" bullshit!" Welf shouted with approval and Lisa snorted dismissively.

"Yeah, no! We Boundary gals are famous for being stubborn!" Her laugh was cut short by another hiss. "Fucking hell!"

Lili bit her lip at her friend's pain. However, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before opening them again and surveying her surroundings.

At their speed and judging from the length of the hallway and her own memory, they were about half way through the thirteenth floor. One more big room and another hallway, and they would be out. But until then, the monsters would catch up in a minute, at most. That assumption was also very generous, reliant on no further reinforcements from the dungeon or any other injuries.

The conclusion the Pallum made caused a shiver down her spine.

They would not make it. Their speed was pitiful and Lili already ran out of half her stat boost from Infinite Shift. They were going to get trapped together that way. Lili bit her lips, frantically looking around as she searched for an answer. Her eyes rested on Lisa's bag. Her eyes widened momentarily and her head snapped back to the front, checking the walls again.

No signs of cracks. For some reason, she had a good feeling nothing would happen as well. It wasn't a mere hunch, but it was a survival instinct honed by years of being inside the dungeon. That meant if there was a way to delay the monsters behind them, they could get to safety with nothing in their path. It meant however, that there had to be a way in the first way.

Depending on how one would see it, luckily Lili knew one. But the Pallum did not like it at all. However, liking it or not, it was the best path in her eyes. A role she did a lot in the past, as a supporter, forced into it against her will more than she could count, a memory awakened from looking at the familiar bag that she always used to carry.

Plan Bait.

It would be a great risk. It relied on the hope that no more monster parties would appear on their escape route while Lili held the rest of. It also relied on her being a one man army. By all means, it was suicidal.

But if it meant saving her allies, she would be taking the risk. It was the benefit of freedom to choose, after all.

A light chuckle escaped her. Besides, she didn't want to end up like her teacher. She did promise to show him how reliable she was. What was more reliable than this, a fight against impossible odds and yet win?

With that in mind, the girl rammed her heels into the ground and skidded over the ground. After slowing down, she turned around and held her naginata ready above her head, lightning sparking anew after she said the casting words. As she heard her teammates stop behind her, Lili didn't wait to yell a reply at them.

"Go! I'll handle it!"

But as expected, her order was not taken too kindly.

"Are you serious?!" She heard Welf scream enraged and already he took steps towards her. "We just talked about the suicide thing!"

"Unlike Lisa, I can fight!" Lili countered loudly, biting her lip nervously as the monsters became closer and closer. Still, she refused to look back. "They will catch up to us if we don't do something and then we're all stuck here!"

"We can't just-"

For some reason, the man stopped behind her and the Pallum was tempted to turn around. However, a female grunt prevented her from doing so.

"Please don't get me killed by Lord Noir," Lisa said in a somber, yet mirthful tone. Then it turned more serious. "I trust you."

Lili smiled softly at that, and had to suppress a laugh at Welf's groan of frustration.

"We'll bring help! So don't you dare die!"

As their steps began to become quieter with the distance, the Pallum shook her head with a low chuckle.

"Man, teacher really needs to stop being such a bad influence on me," she muttered, before refocusing on her front.

Now was the time to see how far Infinite Shift could bring her with this many enemies.

Lili gulped as the situation dawned on her properly and it took a lot from her to stop her shaking hands.

She already regretted her decision to stay back. Now that she was alone, the size of the monster party appeared bigger than she previously thought. And she was still only level one, who wanted to rely on one skill to maybe survive this.

Her grip tightened on her weapon and she shook her head.

Well, no take backs anymore.

With that in mind, she rushed forward with a defiant scream, only taking a few steps before she was upon the monsters.

Good thing that active magic counteracted the corrosion of her skill or else she wouldn't have been nearly as confident.

Use build up for jump and kick into the mass, hit a hound with that. Dual blade mode, wheel ripped apart monsters on her right. Hold up a second, switch to the left and clear the way in front at the same time. Land, dagger and stick to basics. Movements fluid while clearing her closest surroundings. Rabbit, Hound, Armored, in that order. Then, different orders, over and over again. Did not stop moving.

Lili did not come out unharmed however. She was fast, yes, but she wasn't perfect. Once in an eternity, a hit got in she couldn't block perfectly and made her stumble. It didn't do a lot of damage, thanks to her equipment and boosted stats, but it exhausted her. All that stamina build up lost, making her more prone to mistakes and making her head go fuzzy.

She needed to create some room.

Warhammer, breathe in, slam to the ground with all her might and lose control over lightning. Together with the rocks, the electricity spread all over the area wildly. It didn't do much damage, except of a few lucky shots, but it did the job of buying her time.

Sweat ran down her forehead, as she went back into her combat position, and patiently analyzed the situation.

Well, now they were at a pause, but only because the monsters were intelligent enough to be wary of the one girl that just jumped into their ranks without fear. However, it didn't change one simple fact.

She was surrounded. The number one thing you did not want to happen in the dungeon. And her skill already began to leave her yet again. Not that she managed to get a lot out of it. Maybe three ranks, at most.

Her approach wasn't working, she realized. She couldn't kill enough to make a difference or ramp up fast enough.

For now, Lili needed to save up her mind and figure out another pl-

 _Always stay in the present._

Immediately, the Pallum discarded that decision with a frown. What use was thinking about the future if she could die right now?

No.

If she didn't go all out, Lili would lose this fight and her life.

She could not lose Infinite Shift completely. It was her key to victory. She already lost half from that little blunder, anymore and she was certainly dead. Not to mention...

The monsters still didn't move to attack, but they were like coiled springs, ready to act the moment she made a move. They were wary, knowing instinctively that a cornered rat in their eyes could be dangerous. Magic build up in the Hell Hounds, the flames in their mouths. The Hard Armored were on all fours, ready to curl up in a ball and crush her and the rabbits had their little hands behind them, axes ready as well.

Lili grit her teeth at the sight.

The student was way too enraged to not give her all to murder all these stupid, restarted monsters with her own hands. They fucked with her, they fucked with her friends and they fucked with her teacher. All of these things were unforgivable. She was always the victim, always being passive.

Never again.

 _Static is very versatile._

No better time to test stuff out then in a desperate situation, Lili thought with a smirk.

"Static...Armor."

The moments the words left her mouth, the monsters made their own move.

Weapons were thrown, fire was shot and hard shells tried to tackle her. She deflected whatever hard projectiles she could and tried not to stumble too much when the fire hit her salamander coat, while protecting her face. The Hard Armored however?

The moment they came even close to her, got fried in almost an instance and Lili couldn't help but giggle as the air around her crackled wildly, yet controlled. It covered her like a second layer, shooting out like a rabid dog when an enemy came to close and fried them.

However, she couldn't focus on the joy, as the onslaught only began.

Static Armor didn't kill everything instantly. Only delayed, made them weaker. Stab forward into rabbits head. Kick backwards against something soft. Swing over the right side, taking down some hounds. Dagger in left hand, deflect projectiles from the left. Sway backwards from flame and kick forwards to crash Hard Armored into fire squad.

She did think about various applications of static and mainly focused on control. That she tested out a new skill just like that could be considered suicide. There was another thing that made this suicide as well...

That stuff drained a lot more out of her then the basic Static spell! Unlike with the basic one, she could feel the energy dripping out of her. Alas, what she didn't do for survival.

Speaking of survival. Run forward again, make use of offensive nature of Static Armor. Hammer, part the sea of monsters. Right, left, right left. Backside open, take care of it by spinning around with naginata like a wheel.

She couldn't rely on her allies bringing help fast enough. She trusted them, but facts were facts. Because of that, the only one who could save her right now was herself. It was her against the dungeon. Besides...she didn't need any reinforcement if she just killed everything, right? Normally it would sound stupid in her ears, but at the moment, it sounded like the words of wisdom from a sage.

Speaking of killing everything herself...She needed a bigger weapon.

While she was still spinning, scaring the monsters off more than killing them, she could see from her fuzzy vision that they tried the distance approach again. She smirked maliciously.

"Static Extend!"

If Lili before was a small spinning plate, now she was a giant electric windmill that went out of control. The lightning around her naginata condensed and, as the name said, extended out. Sadly, the monsters became smarter real quick and learned to duck. Nevertheless, it did the job of keeping up the offensive and keeping them down.

Move her naginata as if she was rowing in a boat to take care of her sides. Hounds coming from the front, switch to dagger, or rather short sword with the extension, and slice them apart with compact movements. More balls coming from behind. Jump and smash with hammer, then hit them away to bounce them off the enemies. Flame burst incoming, not able to dodge. Raise guard, flame hits, face not as defended as before, as she could feel the burns. Infinite Shift falling down.

Exhaustion became stronger, breath heavier. Ignore, jam dagger down on a rabbits head. The lightning began to destabilize. Cancel, she couldn't suffer from Mind Down. Focus more on dodging, with the stamina she had left.

Rabbit with an axe. Block with dagger, punch away. Naginata and kill it with two more.

Hound. Casting magic. No Hard Armored around. Improvise with Static. Throw condensed lance at it. Call it Arrow? Thoughts for later. Kill confirmed, moving on.

Hard Armored. Killed with a frustrated smash from hammer after it blindsided her.

Rabbit and Hound combination. On the knees, catch axe, throw it back and sloppily stab wolf from below. Killed.

Another Hound. Killed with pure luck. Friendly fire.

Hard Armored. Not killed, kicked back into the fray.

Rabbit. Killed.

Hound. Killed.

Monsters. Killed.

Killed, killed, killed, killed…

Lili could barely keep her eyes open, her vision so misty as if she was under water. Yet she didn't stop. However, her anger, determination and hope began to ran out as she asked herself questions.

How long was she already doing this? How many were there? Was help ever going to come?

Her movements were nothing more than sluggish imitations of what she could do in her prime. She was on her knees, only thing moving her arms were her survival instinct. However, she couldn't deny it anymore.

She ran out.

However, her struggling was not in vain. Something inside the monsters recognized the impossibility of what she was doing. Anyone else trying the stunt she committted to should have been dead ages ago, yet here she was. Because of that, despite her being at her literal last breathe, they were wary. Her arm moved like a weak fly, but the monsters still carefully avoided where her blade pointed.

"You're...really starting...to piss me off…!"

If she stopped moving, that was the signal for them. The signal for them to pounce on her and rip her apart, their instincts of hunting prey overcoming their caution. Because of that, she slowly started to back away. On the front of her lower legs, she barely moved inches, but she didn't surrender. She put all the last remnants of energy into keeping her arm raised, as much as it shook with exhaustion.

She...needed to get away...while she had time…Couldn't...get killed…Couldn't do this to Obsidian.

Her dagger wavered, threatening to slip from her hand. She couldn't even grit her teeth in anger, in order to stay focused. Black spots crept into her vision and due to her hyperventilating, she couldn't even properly breathe in. Any moment and she would cease to move. But she didn't surrender.

Somehow...that thought set her to peace. She didn't stop, but she smiled softly, as her arm began to fall. The monsters immediately jumped and the ghost of awareness in her knew the moment her weapon hit the ground, she would be killed.

Liberty touched the earth beneath. The teeth were right on her face.

But instead of pain and blood...She heard a soft, female voice, as the wind began to pick up and almost soothingly touched her skin.

"Awaken, Tempest."

Lili's eyes widened and ceased any resistance in her upper body, letting her fall backwards. It bought her a second, at most, before the other monsters readjusted to kill her.

It was enough time. The level two monsters were blasted off like leaves in a tornado and despite lying on the ground, she was pushed forwards as well.

Still, the Pallum couldn't help but giggle almost in a crazy manner, the stress in her body leaving her.

"About time..." she muttered with a weak grin before darkness took over, almost swearing she could hear her name being shouted.

* * *

 **Go Beyond 6.4**

Waking up was a real pain sometimes, especially after a hard day. In theory, sleep was meant to recover the body, rest the mind and make one feel like they were reborn. However, in practice, it was not so simple. Sleeping position, injuries from before, bed condition, even the temperature all played part on how one would wake up. The worst case, of course, was the scenario where everything was unfamiliar. Not only would the sleep be terrible, but the waking up process would be accompanied with freaking out because of the unknown.

Where was Lili going with this?  
Well, to keep it short, she felt more like a corpse than a living being, her vision about as clear as a mug full with rotten beer. Her throat was as dry as the dirt she used to sleep on and her muscles were on fire. So, she basically received the opposite of what she wanted from sleep. Not to mention that she knew how her bed felt, and she wasn't in hers. That didn't help her tired, mental state.

Oh joy.

"Ugh..." She gurgled out, blinking weakly as she tried to get rid of one of her pains and tried to calm down. Slowly, but surely, her vision began to clear. At first, she could only make out a weird round shape on a thinner shape, but now she could recognize it was a person. With a groan, she narrowed her eyes, before slowing opening them fully with a deep breath.

Once she did that, her vision was fully back. And she saw a female, blank face almost directly in front of her, the head putting a big shadow on the Pallum's face.

Lili blinked with an exhausted, confused expression.

Aiz blinked back, tilting her head like a curious animal while her upper body hung over the Pallum.

"Good afternoon," the top class adventurer politely said in her soft voice. Lili could only stare with wide eyes, trying to process how in the living hell she got into this situation.

Why was the Sword Princess watching her sleep?!

The panic stopped when something occurred to the Pallum. She started to recount what happened to her, and it did calm her down a little bit. Lili could faintly remember that the Sword Princess was present, casting her signature spell in order to save her before the girl blacked out.

Trying to buy time in this awkward situation, she began to glance around as much as she could. Considering that the blonde covered her vision, she couldn't see a lot. However, what she managed to get, was that whatever room she was in, was one for the wealthy.

Luxurious decorations, some even in gold, big bed that could fit two people, cleaner than soap, carpets...

Alright, she could reasonably assume she was in the Twilight House, the gigantic mini city complex of the Loki Family. So far above her paygrade.

No big deal, Lili decided. The girl did not let out a muffled scream through her frozen expression, causing Aiz to furrow her forehead in worry. Not at all.

Oh, who was she kidding, she was freaking out and it embarrassed her even more. Not only did she need saving, she had to impose on someone else she reasonably liked. Why couldn't it be a prick? Leeching off from such a person would be so much easier.

Lili tried to take a deep breath. Head back in the game. She needed to greet back politely and thank her, or else she would come across as rude and ungrateful.

However, her brain was not properly connected to her mouth yet, so her body could only act automatically.

"Uh...hi…?" She said in an uncertain tone, making the air even more awkward considering the long pause of silence between her greeting and Aiz' one, the latter staring at her with those damn, blank eyes. Only the occasional twitch told Lili that the Sword Princess found this as awkward as she did.

Luckily for the both of them, there was a third person inside the room to break the ice, though Lili didn't recognize the female, casual voice.

"Give the girl some water."

Nodding, Aiz followed the advice and took a glass on the night table next to Lili. Then, the sword fighter carefully helped the Pallum raise her upper body. While the girl would be embarrassed to need help in the first place, her throat yearned too much for the water to care. With Aiz gently giving her the water, she gulped it down with a blissful expression.

Water never felt so good in her life.

Letting out a satisfied gasp, she leaned back and Aiz stood up with the glass to move behind the third person in the room. Lili's eyes slowly followed the Sword Princess and her eyes then wandered to the other person.

Her breath stopped for a moment.

Casually with squinted eyes and with an easy smirk, a tomboyish girl with an orange ponytail leaned forwards against the chair back, arms crossed underneath her chin. She was scarcely clothed, with short shorts and a shirt that only covered her flat chest, leaving her stomach free of clothing. Oh, and she radiated divine energy like crazy, so it was rather easy to figure out who it was. Loki, the Trickster God.

"Yo," she said lazily with a raised hand. Sadly, Lili was not as relaxed. As much as she didn't like Soma, she still respected gods for their power. And Loki was one of the most influential ones, having a top family in Orario. Because of that, she quickly moved her body up in order to bow.

"L-lady Loki! It is a-" The Pallum had to stop herself with a wince, her body crying out from the sudden abuse. The girl blushed at her reaction and her face became redder when the goddess laughed lightly and waved her hand dismissively.

"Skip the politeness. Ya almost died, so ya can chill at the cost of manners."

Reluctantly, Lili followed the advice and tried to relax as much as possible, leaning back on her bed, while biting her lip. Once she did that, the goddess clapped her hands and nodded with a smirk.

"So, you probably wonder what happened, where ya are and why I'm here?" She asked with Aiz standing to her right, straightening up a bit. Lili in turn scratched her right cheek with an awkward smile.

"The latter two more than the former."

Loki in turn nodded, smirk still in place, before throwing her right thumb at her adventurer.

"Alright. Aiz, my darlin, saved your ass after your teammates basically begged her too. Girl is too nice sometimes and that ya trained with her meant she gave enough of a crap for you." She paused and her mouth thinned as she frowned. "Yer not trying to steal one of my kids, right?  
"No?" The Pallum let out, tilting her head in confusion just like Aiz herself. As if nothing happened, the smirk reappeared on Loki's face.

"Great!" Crossing her arms, she looked at Lili with approval. "Anywho, they were surprised you actually managed to kill quite a lot. Hauled yer ass out of there for medical attention and here we are."

Lili nodded slowly, as she processed the information. Nothing too surprising and it made sense. She was pretty beaten up, so them taking her to their base to get proper-

The girl froze in mid movement, blinking for am oment.

Wait. Medical attention? Lili's eyes widened. Lisa!

"What about my team?!" The Pallum yelled in worry, leaning forward, before hissing as pain flared up in her back again. Aiz was immediately at her side, gently pushing her back down on the bed, while Loki held her hands up in defense, smile a bit more compassionate.

"They're fine. Shield girl's leg was a bit fucked, but nothing my cutie Riveria wouldn't be able to handle."

Hearing those words, Lili relaxed slightly and covered her eyes with her hand with a sigh of relief, stopping to struggled in futility against the Sword Princess' superior strength. A small giggle escaped her.

"That's...that's good..." She muttered, before taking a deep breath and turning her head slightly at the goddess. Since she wasn't allowed to stand up, she instead raised her hand in front of her in gratitude. "I don't know how to repay you for this. This…is the second time I had to be save-"

She stopped when the goddess raised her hand with a small smirk.

"Yeah, you can stop right there. Yes, you do owe my family. Luckily, I figured out a good way for you to repay me."

Lili blinked and tilted her head slightly.

"And that would be?" She asked with curiosity. At her question, Loki turned the chair around, leaning back on it and crossed her legs, smirk turning a bit more sharklike.

"Well, to keep stuff short, I want ya."

The Pallim blinked in incomprehension, mouth half open as she processed the words in her head.

"What?"

"She means in the family," Aiz corrected after slapping her goddess over the head, who dramatically cried out in pain.

"Oh," she let out in a small tone. Then the words actually hit her and she gaped at Loki yet again. "What?!"

Rubbing her head, the goddess hissed a bit at the pain, before leaning forward, her arms on her knees. Instead of a smile, her face was actually serious for once.

"Your...abilities might gain some bad attention. Ya need protection and training that Soma can't give you. You have talent and it would be a shame to let it go to waste." Then she grinned and shrugged. "Besides, I like ya. Finn likes ya. Aiz likes ya. Riveria likes ya _and_...that guy..."

As she trailed off, a dark expression on her face, Aiz averted her eyes from Lili and the Pallum could swear that she was blushing a little bit. Usually, she would love to tease someone like that or say anything to help the mood. However…

She stayed silent, her face devoid of emotions. Inside of her though, was a storm building up and she couldn't understand why.

"What about Tione?" Lili asked in a blank tone, trying to buy time to get her thoughts together.

The goddess gave a shrug.

"Eh, I'll figure something out. Eventually. Maybe." She paused and nodded slowly, scratching her right cheek with a worried expression. "Probably should stay away from her."

The small girl nodded slowly, not really feeling the humor as she raised her upper body to lean against the wall. Staring at her arms, she blinked a couple of times.

By all means, this was a one in a life time opportunity. So...why…

Why couldn't she accept? Something in her was repulsed by the idea and she couldn't make sense of it. The Pallum felt...lost.

There was only one person who could help her with that, Lili decided with a deep breath.

"Can I talk to my teacher about this? Alone?" She asked in a quiet tone, avoiding their eyes.

"Sure. I got time," Loki said in an easy going tone and stood up. Lili heard some movements, away from her, and then heard a click of a door knob. All talking outside stopped instantly, before the goddess raised her voice again, this time directed at someone else."Hey, mummy! Your baby wants you!"

The chuckling outside made Lili blush in embarrassment, and she was glad when the door closed again. Without missing a beat, she looked up to see the soothing, familiar face of her teacher. Or, rather the bandages, but hey, sentiment.

Speaking of Obsidian, he looked...tired. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his bandages were so out of order that she could see patches of light skin and his body language was the definition of tired. Yet in face of all these things...he brightened up when he saw her, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Honestly, it felt worse than if he were angry. Still, she couldn't help but smile as well and spread her arms just in time to accept the hug she saw coming. Her teacher made sure not to press to hard, so it felt soothing like it always did.

After a while, they separated and he gently put his hands on her shoulder, as he was on his knees.

"You alright?" He asked, surprisingly not in his raspy voice, but his natural, deep voice. Not letting the surprise get to her, she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Loki didn't touch you, right?" Obsidian asked immediately after, sounding very unamused. Lili tilted her head in confusion?  
"Why would she touch me?" She shrugged. "I mean, sure, she could have put some bandages on, but we have potions and magic for that, right?"

For a while, Obsidian simply stared at her and it only perplexed the Pallum more about what the hell he meant. In the end, the man sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah, let's go with that," he muttered with averted eyes, before looking up again with worry. "You sure you are fine?"

"Yes, I am," Lili said in a more insistent tone, but couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement. This was enough to convince her teacher, who let out a breathe of relief and sat down on the floor, legs crossed.

"That's great..."

Guilt built up in her chest and the Pallum tilted her head slightly.

"You aren't mad?" She asked in a quiet tone and Obsidian let out a dry snort.

"More mad at myself and at the world than you," he said in a bitter tone and looked up with a knowing look. "Bad luck is a bitch, hm?"

Lili sighed. It sure was.

Anyway, the girl nervously bit her lip as she looked at her teacher.  
"So you're fine with me going to the Middle Floors?"

"Sooner or later you would have to go down there. That's the way it is," he replied, scratching his head. Then his mouth thinned and he crossed his arms in disapproval. "Though I did wish you would have been more specific with what you planned to do. And I wish you would have been level two before risking it."

"Sorry..." Lili said with a wince, realizing that simply saying 'Going to the dungeon, bye' before slamming the door shut wasn't the best way to approach the situation. To her relief, the man smiled with a shrug.

"Eh, you're alive and that's what matters." His grin became a bit more strained. "Still...don't make a habit of it."

With a snort, the Pallum shook her head in dry amusement.

"I try not to attract monster parties, got it," she snarked and the two of them shared a chuckle, before falling into comfortable silence. She readjusted her position in the bed, which was really comfortable now that she focused on it.

The bed in the guest room of Loki's family. Lili frowned at the thought. She remembered Loki's offer and all the good feelings she had almost evaporated instantly. Obsidian raised an eyebrow at her reaction and crossed his arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked in confusion and Lili sighed. There was a reason she asked for him. Scratching her hair, she kept her eyes on the white blanket covering her legs.

"Lady Loki's offer...To join her family..." With a weak smile, she looked at her teacher. "I don't know if I should accept."

His eyes widened in shock and he stood up, body stiff.

"What? Why? It's a great opportunity," he questioned, not in a harsh tone, but in a worrying one. A small part of her told her something was off about this, but the rest of her was busy with his question.

Why?

Now that a person asked it, she was forced to face herself. She thought about it, thinking about her emotions towards adventurers, the dungeon, her past and her present...Taking all these factors into account, there was only one logical conclusion.

"I..." She hesitated and bit back a sob, before letting out a shaking breath. Then she looked up at the ceiling with a sad smile. "I'm bitter."

Not hearing any other interruptions, she stared back down on her fingers, with which she was playing around as she searched for words.

"The Loki family...they aren't bad people. They didn't abuse me at all," she slowly started and closed her eyes. "They just...didn't notice until now."

Her voice was soft, accepting the fact almost setting her in peace as she chuckled in a somber manner.

"They all didn't notice until now," she repeated and covered her face with a sigh. "Would I still be friends with Welf and Lisa without meeting you?"

Removing her hand, she noticed her eyes were beginning to water. However, she ignored it and looked straight at her teacher with a fragile expression. He didn't recoil, but his worry intensified in his eyes.

"It's like...if I hadn't met you, they would have ignored me. I feel like it isn't me they want, but the me molded by your actions," she whispered and sobbed for a moment. Rubbing her eyes, she looked back on the blanket.

"Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for everything you did for me and they are good people, friends even, but..." She clutched her chest and grit her teeth. "This feeling in my heart...it's resentment. A lot...Why only now? Why not before? Those thoughts are running through my head all the time..."

She felt a cloth brushing her cheek and she looked back at Obsidian, who cleaned off her tears, before putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, a neutral expression on his face.

"I won't pretend that your feelings aren't valid, because they are. I may not understand them completely but...don't be ashamed of them," he said in a quiet, but strong tone. "However, don't let that bog you down. Those feelings shouldn't stop you to be happy again. This is your life and don't believe for a second that all of this happened only because of one person or because of fate, okay?"

The words were encouraging and the girl slowly nodded. However, she couldn't bring herself to smile.

Something was wrong. He was a bit too...insistent on the matter, for lack of better words. And Lili had a suspicion, which she needed to confirm.

"Did...did you put them up to this?" She asked in a hesitant tone and that Obsidian scratched his head uncomfortably told her everything she needed to know. The girl put a damper on her anger almost immediately. She didn't want to ruin this.

"I did ask them," he slowly replied and Lili just slowly shook her head, awaiting more details. When he wasn't giving them, she put more hurt in her voice than she wanted to. The implications of his actions gave her dark thoughts she desperately tried to dispel.

"Why?"

"Because I want to see you happy. Safe. Soma can't do that." The man let out a sigh and lowered his head in shame. "I...can't do that."

"You want me to leave," Lili quietly accused him, but his heated glare made her stop from making any other comments she would regret.

"No, I don't," he replied harshly, before taking a deep breath. His shoulders slumped down as he averted his eyes. "But...You deserve better. You almost died in there. Sure, you survived, but next time..." He trailed off and shook his head frantically, before looking at her with pleading eyes. "I need to know that there are more people to look out for, not just Welf and Lisa."

"Here I thought I could make you rely on me..." The Pallum weakly said with a scoff, but her expression softened in response to her emotions calming down.

"Can't rely on you when you're dead," he tried to joke, but it fell flat. Realizing that, he leaned forward, kneeling on the ground as he pat her on the back. "Loki's family is the best in Orario. Stick with them and you will be the best as well."

Lili let out a deep sigh, shaking her head. She understood. Damn it, she understood but she didn't like it. Nevertheless, emotions aside, his reasons were good ones. Logical ones. Crossing her arms, she looked away from him, looking out the window as the sun began to settle.

"Fine. I'll accept," she grunted out and Obsidian laughed lightly at her reaction, ruffling her hair to her dismay. She intensified her pout, showing that she did not like it. Not at all.

Anyway, with that talk done and having made her decision, Obsidian opened the door to let the goddess back in. This time, she came in alone, waving her children off that she would be fine with the little girl and the creepy stranger straight out of a backalley.

Sitting down on her chair, she clapped her hands together, her chin on the back of the chair.

"So, had your heart to heart?" She asked with a grin and the two people in question nodded. Obsidian turned to her in expectation and raised an eyebrow when the Pallum flashed him a smile.

He was not going to win this that easily.

Turning back to the goddess she cleared her throat and folded her hands.

"If you still want me…I will accept your invitation." Then she raised her right hand and two fingers with a small frown. "But I have two conditions."

"Name them," Loki instantly said, smirking in anticipation. Lili took in a deep breath.

Welp, here went nothing.

"If it isn't too much, I would like to keep working with my team. I know how family politics are, but..." She trailed off, uncertain how to continue. The goddess hummed in thought as she scratched her chin.

"Could become a bit complicated. Hephaestus and... _Boob-Loli_ , right?" At the hesitant nods, especially because of the latter name that was basically spat out, she crossed her arms and leaned back, carefully balancing herself in order to not fall off. "Hm...Well, I guess I gotta make some sacrifices. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Lili said in relief and Loki waved her off, before leaning forward again.

"Second condition?" She asked and this time, the student couldn't help but grin as she shot a glance at Obsidian.

"I want to keep living with my teacher."

The words were like a spell as it put the entire room in silence. However, while Loki only raised an eyebrow in confusion, the teacher stared at Lili with wide eyes.

"Huh?" He managed to let out and the Pallum couldn't help but giggle as she looked up to him.

"As if you could get rid of me like that." Her smirk grew wider as she lightly hit his left arm. "You are a slow acting disease, remember? You already infected me."

The man stared at her, opening his mouth a few times. In the end, he covered his forehead and let out a low chuckle.

"You damn brat..." He said and Loki turned to him for a moment, eyes narrowed. Lili blinked, before realizing that Obsidian was still using his non gravely voice. A second later and she shrugged. Eh, it sounded better anyway.

Either way, Loki rested her chin on her arm as she had a thoughtful expression about the condition.

"I prefer having my kids under one roof..." She began to say, before shrugging and smirking widely as she extended her right hand. "Well, as long as you stay for some sleepovers, why should I say no? Deal!"

Clasping her hand, Lili shook the hand, smiling herself. Things went better than expected. After letting go, Obsidian raised his hand. Getting the girl's attention, he crossed his arms.

"So...What about paperwork?" He asked and Loki waved him off.

"Already done."

The two mortals stared at her and Lili blinked in disbelief.  
"Then why ask me if I want a transfer?" She asked in an incredulous tone and in turn received a flat stare.

"Girl, I looked around a bit and you have to be insane to pick Soma's group over mine," she countered dryly and Lili giggled nervously.

"Fair enough," she admitted. Loki nodded in approval, before turning to Obsidian and began to wave him off.

"Alright, now shoo. I gotta update her," she commanded in a playful tone and the man complied. But as he reached the door, he glanced back with narrowed eyes at Loki, before waving at his stundent a neutral, but sparkling expression.

With that, he closed the door. Lili had to admit, that was weird. The goddess on the other hand rolled her eyes with a lazy smirk.

"Sheesh, one would think he was your dad..." She muttered and for some reason, the thought was welcome for the girl, even though it was embarrassing. Anyway, the goddess rolled up her already short sleeves and pointed at the Pallum in enthusiasm. "Now turn around and let me give you your level up!"

Lili froze at those words and stopped in mid motion of turning around. She glanced back with a shocked expression.

"Level up?"

* * *

 **Interlude: The Trickster**

Loki stretched her arms in the air, leaning back with a satisfied groan before relaxing and staring up at the ceiling, her head resting on the chair. For once, her trademark smirk was not present as she sat alone in her office room, instead frowning deeply. To be honest, she should have gotten ready for the incoming party. The mention of booze would have been enough to lift her spirits and ignore anything she would consider tedious. However, instead she focused intently on the piece of paper in her hands, frowning deeply at it.

Updating the status of her newest child and letting her leave without a fuss was harder than expected, especially after seeing the skills and ability section. Still, contrary to believe, Loki knew when to be tactful and the girl didn't seem to look like she had any idea of what she received, so if there was anything fishy, it wasn't on the Pallum. Which reminded her, she needed to show Lili those new additions sooner or later.

But first, brain on. Tricks were at work here and she would be amiss to figure them out.

First, the stats.

Two S rank, agility and dexterity. Made sense, from what she heard. Lili's fighting style relied heavily on getting a lot of hits in and switching around with that weird weapon of hers. The other stats were rather high as well. B in strength and endurance and A in magic.

Loki's furrowed her forehead as she put the paper on her desk, hand underneath her chin.

But, there was one thing that didn't fit. The girl was a damn supporter. Hard training or not, good teacher or not, skill or not, there was no way the girl would be able to reach stats like these in less time than it took Aiz or Lefiya to level up.

Speaking of skill, there was the second part that didn't fit.

Infinite Shift alone would be an ability that would make any veteran adventurer have wet dreams. It certainly would have been a perfect fit for a battle junkie like her Sword Princess. One would think Liliruca Arde would have used up enough luck to last a life time.

Obviously, the world didn't agree with her and decided to throw in another powerful skill. Loki snorted in dry amusement, her left finger running over the line.

Pressure Release. An active skill that could easily turn the tides and was tailored to be used with Infinite Shift. All temporary boosts would be removed and be added to one magic spell once it would be used with the intend of the skill. Like a wave, it would slowly build up, before crashing down on the enemy once the user would desire it.

So essentially, it would weaponize the temporary divinity boost from Infinite Shift into magic energy, ready to be used with her short chanting spell "Killer Current."

Here she thought her family was full with bullshit mortals doing bullshit things. Always new surprises.

Nevertheless, Loki groaned in frustration and rubbed her forehead.

Yes, skills were tailored to the individual, but these were suspicious. They did not fit a supporter. And if a change of careers and some motivation were enough to get these kinds of power ups, Orario would be filled with protagonists. Her new Developmental ability didn't help Lili's case of being normal as well. Unlike skills, they had common themes. If you use a lot of magic, you would get "Mage." If you were a blacksmith, "Forge" would be boosting ones abilities at their job.

"Lightning Affinity" was definitely an ability she never heard of. According to her own intuition, it would do what it said on the name. The adventurer would be better at using lightning, get less damaged by lightning and the lightning magic would get boosted. And Loki had a feeling that was only the top of the iceberg the ability could do.

The goddess crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair after throwing the paper into the fire. Secrecy was important after all and she couldn't get more out of it anyway. The blanks on the paper annoyed her to no end, but she had no way to remove them.

Long story short, Liliruca Arde was an abnormality. Which meant someone interfered with the Blessing. She already had a suspicion of who it could have been. There were some suspects, that would empower other people's children without any obvious downside, but only one of them stood out. Only one would risk such a blatant disregard for the rules, since that person wasn't bound by them in the first place and because Loki knew that brat. If it would "spice" things up, she would take it, no matter what she claimed. Question was, how to track the brat down. The girl was even more slippery than Hermes, proving it months ago with that stupid hair prank.

Well, at least she had something to share with Riveria at least.

Anyway, the question was how to find the damn brat.

The moment she asked herself this, wind suddenly picked up and the papers left over from the rest of the day fluttered all over the place. Loki cursed and tried to catch them, but then stopped when she realized something.

She did not open any windows. So where was the wind coming from?

"Hi, Loki," a female, familiar voice announced smugly behind her. The goddess in question blinked.

Alright, that was easier than she thought. To expect that she would just visit the trickster...It was the last thing on Loki's list, but she wasn't to look into a gift horse's mouth. Because of that, she couldn't help but chuckle lowly before she turned her head.

"Well, well, well...This is a surprise..." Her eyes rested on the smirking, green haired girl, sitting on her open window, legs dangling around. "Gaia."

"I aim to please," the girl said with a smirk and bowed a little. Loki rolled her eyes and threw her thumb over her shoulder.

"Close the damn window. It's cold enough."

Moments later, the two divine beings sat across each other at the table. The two of them stared at each other in silence, playful expressions in place. It was Loki who cracked first by letting out a sigh and shaking her head with a frown.

"What are you playing at?" She asked with a glare, leaning her right cheek against her hand. Gaia in turn blinked innocently and tilted her head.

"What? You got a new child, already level two with some unique skills."

"Out of the goodness of your heart," the goddess said in a flat tone, raising an eyebrow.

To Loki's surprise however, Gaia's expression turned more genuine, her smile replaced by a somber expression.

"This time? Yes." The girl let out a sigh and crossed her legs. "If it helps, I can only hide or add something to a blessing. I can't take anything away or change something fundamentally."

Something was weird about this for Loki, but she decided to shrug it off in order to dig her claws deeper in the information dwell that was Gaia.

"Oh really? What about...Lightning Affinity?" She asked nonchalantly, checking her finger nails. Expecting an answer, the goddess was surprised that her guest blinked at her in confusion.

"Lightning-" Gaia stopped herself when realization and shock hit her. "That's Obsidian's skill. Well, one of them." She began to scratch her chin in thought,. "Did our Falna mix somehow…?"

"You have no idea?" The trickster asked in disbelief and the girl raised her hands in defense.

"Hey, I don't know how everything works. I mean, who does?"

Gaia was...awfully open about this. Loki crossed her arms as she leaned back and raised an eyebrow. Speaking of open...

"Wait, Obsidian?" Loki tilted her head skeptically. "You're not even trying to hide it?"

As if she said something weird, Gaia stared at her in confusion, before waving her off dismissively.

"Sure. Unlike Soma, you are willing to use that brain of yours."

The trickster let out a snort and shook her head in amusement. Yeah, that sounded like the damn wine maker, alright. Though as much as she would like to shit talk about other gods, business came first, so Loki sobered up quickly and stood up, before leaning forward on her table.

"Are you going to play around with Lili's Falna more?" She asked in what others would call a casual tone. However, her eyes were slightly more open and her teeth showed as she smiled. If it bothered the person in front of her, she didn't show it as she smiled back like an innocent child, despite Loki's face almost touching hers.

"Not intentionally. I think the foundation has been set. The rest...is up to her."

Loki narrowed her eyes.

Gods may not be able to automatically tell if other gods lied, but Loki was not known as the goddess of tricks for nothing. As good as Gaia was, Loki could get at least something out of her. That something was sincerity. Satisfied, the woman sat back and relaxed against her chair, right arm over the back.

"You and your observer kink," she commented in amusement and Gaia snorted in response.

"Like you're one to talk."

Loki in turn stared at her in an incredulous manner and pointed at herself first, then at her guest.

"I have a social life. You're a stalker."

This time, the girl actually flinched and giggled nervously. The tricksters filed this information in her mind under "potential weakness".

"Working on it. Though...it's in my nature. Hard to change that."

As she shrugged helplessly, Loki couldn't muster up the strength to tease her about it. Changing one's nature, especially divine was close to impossible. She may not know what "domain" Gaia had, but just looking at herself, or any other god like Frejya or Soma...

"True that," Loki admitted in amusement and raised her hands in mock surrender.

For a while, the two of them sat there in silence and Loki had the feeling that Gaia was here for something else. The way she looked around absentmindedly...

The goddess grinned at the girl's antics. Well, if she wasn't going to spit it out, she might as well squeeze everything out of this opportunity. Casually, she stood up and leaned against the wall, looking out of her window. She smiled softly as she saw her newest addition being flustered as Tiona took the lead in the initiation of embarrassing her. It was a good thing the teacher was distracted by pissing off Bete, who was barely restrained by Finn.

That sight gave her an idea for the next topic, as she idly glanced at her guest.

"So...You lied about not having a family?"

Almost casually, Gaia shrugged as she rested her chin on the table, matching Loki's gaze with what looked like boredom.

"I didn't lie. You guys asked me that question hundred years ago and at that time, I did not," she countered, lazily batting her eyelashes. Loki blinked for a moment, staring at the ground before letting out a "hm". Was it that long already? She shrugged before looking back up.

Oh well, she could still get something out of this.

"Why the change of heart?" Loki asked a bit more forcefully this time as she narrowed her eyes. She did not miss how Gaia tensed up, her smile turning more strained, and the goddess grinned slightly.

"Got interested, so to say. Remembered stuff," the girl tried to play it off as she pretended to admire her carpets.

Vague and short sentences. It was like a fresh piece of meat thrown at a starving lion for Loki. The goddess leaned forward with crossed arms, aiming to provoke the girl more in order to make her slip up. It was nothing personal, just business.

"You're doing a lousy job with your family, and I met Soma's and Hermes'."

A bitter laugh escaped Gaia and she shook her head as she pointed at herself with a wry smile.

"What can I say, I have issues." She shrugged and folded her hands under her chin. "Besides, I'm trying. Not that the four really need it."

Four. Useful information. Meant her family was quality instead of quantity. From what she heard about Boundary, scarce as it was from Riveria, it meant only these four were the leaders of Boundary. Not one more and not one less. Which meant that all four had good leadership skills and had the power to take control of a city by themselves. Which wasn't really hard if they were surrounded by normal people, but it was good information nonetheless.

Still, Loki frowned deeply as she scratched her chin.

Gaia was a lot more subdued and honest than usual. She wouldn't take the hits just like that. There were dozens of opportunities for the girl to bite back, to troll her or let out her sass. Or simply leave. Something must have happened lately.

Too bad for her, Loki was not known for being nice. No matter how passive she tried to act, Loki knew that she just needed to hit the right buttons to know more about the enigma that was Gaia and she might have an idea.

Walking back to her table, she set her right hand on it, while leaning in on Gaia.

"Don't ya think it's a little too late with him? I saw him, you know? Before the bandages. What makes you think you can do better now?" She quietly snarled and didn't just surprise her guest.

Alright, maybe there were some personal feelings involved as well, but Loki would never admit it out loud. Blinking for a bit, she shook it off in order to get her head back in the game.

Anyway, it was quite a sight, to see Lili's teacher right before his bandage phase. Now, it was a common sight. Rookies biting off more than they can chew and others suffering the consequences from it. Dionysus had such a person in his family, so people losing their mind after leaving the dungeon wasn't really that uncommon.

What was uncommon however, was the fact of how much destruction one guy could do on his own while having his mental breakdown. It sent a shiver down her spine remembering how he pretty much redecorated the entrance and left faster than anyone could catch up to him. Really, it was easy to connect that maniac with the depressed mummy that was Obsidian Noir.

Loki grinned slightly at Gaia's reaction. A cold, blank expression, her hands curled up in fists.

Jackpot.

Instead of lashing out however, the girl took deep breaths, before looking down with shame.

"I'm already working on it," she grit out before letting out a sigh. "He may not trust me ever again, if there was something like that in the first place, but..." Looking at her fists, her eyes filled with determination. "I will not fail him again. This time, his fears will be unfounded."

Loki blinked, grin gone. That was...more heartfelt than expected. She felt a bit bad. Just a little though. Leaning back, she crossed her arms.

Anyway, what she just said confirmed a lot of suspicions she had lately.

"You're the one who led Finn to Lili," Loki stated with a frown and Gaia rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Better safe than sorry. Wished she wouldn't have been that impulsive," she muttered in annoyance. Loki ignored that and pressed on.

"You brought her party together as well. Welf and that supporter girl."

"It's not like they had any party members themselves," Gaia said, waving her off and Loki shook her head in dry amusement.

"You're trying to keep her safe. For Obsidian."

"It's the best I can do," the girl whispered and Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Yet she keeps getting in danger..." She trailed off, while processing the confirmations in her head.

Like some invisible helper, Gaia moved things around for her advantage. Loki had to say, it was pretty impressive how manipulative she could be. Still, there were more direct ways to do it, then doing the good ol' innocent girl act and then vanishing thing.

It was really creepy, really. As if Gaia couldn't do anything but that, avoiding any meaningful conversations for proper manipulations because she always up and left after two sentences at most. It rank of social ineptitude and Aiz lived in the same building as her. Here she thought nobody could top that.

Anyway, Gaia pouted and crossed her arms.

"Hey, I said I do my best. Not my fault that it always happens. I'm not almighty. Besides, I know enough to make sure my kids survived. And they are still alive."

Finishing with a pointed glare, Gaia basically dared Loki to counter her. Well, who was she to decline her that? With a smug grin, Loki sat back on her chair and raised an eyebrow at her.

"But you don't know how to do more than that."

Sucking air through her teeth, Gaia averted her eyes, filling the trickster with satisfaction.

"First time I'm doing this all by myself. I'm prone to make mistakes in the more...gentle department," she said in an awkward tone before shaking her head and turned to Loki with a weak smile. "Look...I'm grateful you accepted Lili. I would have repeated mistakes from the past."

"Not really like you to admit that," Loki commented, feeling a bit awkward at the gratitude. She quietly observed as her guest visibly deflated, shoulders hunched as she weakly twirled her hand at herself.

"Being me didn't do me many favors in life. Hell, after I gave that Pallum her skill I went back to reading some books for a couple of weeks until I realized I've been doing the same shit again," she said in a bitter tone. Then, she bowed her head at Loki. "So...thanks."

Okay, this was getting really weird. Scratching the back of her head, Loki let out a strained laugh.

"Man, if you say it like that it makes it sound like you are the better person."

"You make it sound like I'm not," Gaia said in a skeptical tone and the goddess sent her a flat look. For a while, the staring contest continued, before they started to giggle lightly.

There was the little shit she knew. Somewhat.

After calming down a bit, Loki crossed her arms behind her head.

"While we're at it, what about her teacher?" A smirk appeared on her face. "Want me to adopt him as well?"

Gaia frowned at that and shook her head.

"Leave him alone. Whether he knows it or not, he doesn't like the divine. Please leave it to Lili and then you can ask your questions."

Her voice didn't leave any room for objections and Loki had the feeling that Gaia would be willing to back up those words. Unlike her, Loki would be sent straight back to heaven if she clashed with the diving being in front of her earnestly. Because of that, the trickster raised her arms in surrender.

"Fine. Not that interested in your kid anyway," she admitted the truth, before grinning at her guest. "Never expected you of all people to grow attached to others."

"I'm just aiming to mimic a role model of mine," Gaia whispered in a somber tone as she stared out of the window and Loki narrowed her eyes.

Role model? First time she ever heard Gaia talk about other people unless it was in the context of observation. She opened her mouth to press for that-

"Lady Loki? Are you ready?"

-but Aiz' voice made her stop and she leaned to the side a bit to look at the door properly.

"Yeah! Just a minute" She yelled back, before turning her attention back to her guest. "Well, gott-"

Well, would have, if she wasn't gone. Loki clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I hate when she does that."

No sign was left from Gaia in her room and Loki knew that her guest decided to do whatever she did to make sure nobody would find her.

Eh, more time to analyze the situation as she checked herself over in order to get ready for the party.

That was the most focused the girl had ever been as far as Loki was aware of. Usually Gaia would run off somewhere, or start joking around in a matter of a minute. Looking around, it didn't seem like any prank was set up. Which meant that her guest was completely serious for this meeting.

Speaking of meeting, She still didn't know what Gaia was here for. Killing time? Lili's level up? Or was it some anniversary that made her more serious? Questions she would need to answer at a later date. Standing up, she stretched her arms a bit and walked up to the door with a grin. She couldn't wait to party with her kids and Lili's tea-

Loki's hand stopped as it touched the handle.

Wait.

Lili's team.

One of them was the child of...

Her motivation was gone as she hung her head low in depression.

"Boob-Loli is going to be there..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Celebration 7.1**

"You know I'm not one for big speeches, so..." Loki shot everyone in the tavern a wide grin and shot her mug up in excitement. "To our new member and to her level up! Cheers!"

"Cheers!" The entire building and the seats outside yelled in excitement and the merry part got kicked off. The Hostess of Fertility always had a lot of customers, but today, the building was almost bursting with the amount of customers. Because of that, the outside had to be prepped to be able to serve people. Mama Mia did a good job of giving everyone a seat, a table and lots of food. Though pity welled up inside the Pallum as she saw the maids run all over the place, only their experience making sure they didn't spill anything. Even Ryuu looked like she had a tough time, judging from the deeper frown and the sweat running down her forehead. The girl flashed her a smile, which the elf mimicked before carrying a tray full with meat to one of the many tables.

As usual, the Hostess was brimming with a good mood and celebration. People shared stories, drinking contests were going on, some flirted with each other...Overall a nice party.

Though there were some that threw dirty glares at Lili and her teacher. Unlike the latter, the Pallum was not used to so much attention. Used to being treated like dirt, yes, but never had she experienced this kind of…

Jealousy.

Her smile fell right after she gave it to Ryuu and sighed. Why was it her fault she attracted the top players of the Loki family? It wasn't like she asked for it, so the glares were completely unjustified.

Thank the gods that most in her new...family were focusing on something else. The way to the Hostess was hell enough.

No more amazons intruding in her personal space, no more conversations with her fellow Pallum that made girls want to murder her and thank the heavens, no more awkward silences with Aiz tried to communicate with her and failed at it.

Oh, did she mention the murderous glares? Yeah, they were still there, from guys and even from girls.

Anyway, none of that anymore. Only Lili and her favorite corner in the Hostess, where she had some alone time with her food. She was going to enjoy the heck out of it.

There were probably a bunch of other places to have a party...But heaven above, Lili knew for a fact none of them were as good as the Hostess if it came to food, mood and space. And no, she was no biased at all, as she munched on her chicken with a blissful expression. Though it fell slightly when her eyes sought the people closest to her.

First, Obsidian. Just like her, he was sitting on his own, in a corner separate from her. Coincidentally he was also munching on a chicken. Their eyes met and both raised their thumbs at the same time, before focusing back on chewing. Nevertheless, the girl frowned a bit.

Her teacher was a bit off...Ever since they left the base of the Loki family, there was just this feeling Lili had, that her teacher wasn't as alright as he seemed. She couldn't quite pinpoint it though and she was sure it wasn't directly because of her. She would have noticed before.

Well, she decided to talk to him when she got the time later.

For now, her eyes rested on her teammates a bit further across her. She sighed. They haven't talked ever since the dungeon and Lili felt a bit awkward at approaching them. Unlike the loners that was the Noir household, her teammates actually sat with others. Sure, it was only Bell and Hestia, who awkwardly attempted to be cheerful as they ate and appeared to talk about random stuff. They failed for a simple reason, thus their uncertain glances and nervous sweating, coupled with their shaky smiles.

Two of the four at the table were rather grumpy for a party. Poking their food with the energy of a plant, their faces were essentially fixated into frowns. Reacting to the attempts of banter they let out grunts, they ignored other people trying to mingle with them, eyes seemingly focused on the food, but in reality staring into anything but that plate. Maybe memories, maybe the void, who knew?

One would think it was due to the lack of a father and a goddess respectively. Both were busy elsewhere with their respective jobs and it would be natural to be grumpy if that would happen on the day of a celebration. It would seem like they didn't care about the accomplishments of their children.

One would think the injury on Lisa's leg would be the cause of the bad mood, the thick bandages reminding them of the horror in the dungeon.

But neither of these were the case and Lili knew that. It was her and that was the reason she hesitated to approach them. Slapping her face a bit, she took a deep breath with a determined face, smiling slightly.

Well, no use in pushing it off anymore. Besides, she faced an army of monsters, how hard could it be to face them?

Her confident smile fell and she sighed. Oh, who was she kidding? This was going to be hell. Downing her water, she stood up, trying to look sure of herself as she made her way over to her friends. It was the goddess who noticed her first. Eyes widening, she immediately grabbed her second child's arm and pulled him away with exaggerated excitement.

"Hey Bell, the table over there looks like it has good food!" She shouted in an obvious manner, pointing towards the entrance. Bell in turn just looked at his goddess in confusion.

"But we can just ord-" Then his eyes landed on the Pallum. Recognition dawned on his face and he cleared his throat awkwardly, stopping his struggle at the same time. "Oh! Err, sure!"

As they not so subtly left the table, the team was left on their own. Her two teammates still didn't look up, pretending as if nothing happened. Lili scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

She had to be smooth about this.

"Enjoying yourself?" She asked with a shaky smile as she sat down, dramatically moving her arm before supporting her chin. Internally, she was already screaming.

As smooth as teacher when he talks with Riveria. As in, smooth as splintered wood. Lili would have slapped herself if she weren't in public. Their reactions were...natural.

"Meh."

"Hm."

Well, that didn't work. Lili let out a deep sigh.

Obsidian taught her that pride often got in the way of things she was meant to do. With that in mind, she put her hands on the table and bowed her head at them.

"I'm sorry about what happened and you have every right to be angry," she said in a serious tone, closing her eyes.

For a while, her head remained lowered. But when not reaction occurred from her friends, Lili carefully peeked at them and blinked in confusion.

They looked perplexed, the moody atmosphere they had long gone. Sharing some glances, raising an eyebrow at each other and shrugging after what appeared to be a mental communication, it didn't look like they had an idea what she was even talking about. Before Lili could question that however, it was Lisa who raised her hand, tilting her head.

"Why do you think we're angry at you, Lili?"

The Pallum gaped at them.

Were they serious?

"Err...because I told you to go and I almost died anyway?" She asked awkwardly, pointing at herself. To her surprise, her teammates snorted in dry amusement.

"The alternative was all of us dying together," Lisa countered and threw her thumb at the blacksmith with a smirk. "Welf took some time to get used to the idea."  
He in turn sighed and raised his hands in mock surrender, though he grinned as well.

"Yeah, kinda hard to swallow. But it's a fact."

"It was the right choice and we were fast enough. You did a good job, so that isn't the issue," Lisa finished up the explanation and Welf nodded in agreement. Lili in turn bit her lip.

"So...you aren't mad at me?" She asked in a quiet tone and the two of them shook their head.

"We aren't mad at you." Welf paused and frowned a bit. "Not a lot anyway."

For that, he got an elbow to his rips and he yelped in pain. As he rubbed his right side, Lisa gestured at the two of them with a wry smile.

"We're madder at ourselves." She let out a deep sigh. "If we were stronger, we wouldn't need to run away as well."

Lili's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't see this coming. But on second thought, maybe she should have. No use regretting it now. She couldn't let this stand, like with her teacher. Shaking her head, she raised her hands in objection with a deep frown.

"Whoa there, I heard that six men squads of level two adventurers got killed down there by Monster Parties. Why do you think being stronger would have make a difference?" Lili objected and Welf snorted dismissively.

"Says the girl who can ramp up with ease and already reached level two? And survived despite that?"

Flinching at that, the Pallum had to admit that her argument was a bit flimsy when he put it like that. Before she could response, Lisa raised her hand, with a wry smile.

"It would have helped. At the very least, we would have been faster to get you help," she said, lowering her head in shame at the same time as the blacksmith.

Lili frowned and stood up, crossing her arms at them. Okay, she had enough of that from Obsidian. She didn't need her team to be like that as well. Having their attention, she gave them her best glare.

"We went down there to become stronger. Bad things...were going to happen. We prepared as much as possible and couldn't get any stronger in the Upper Floors, unless we would beat an Infant Dragon," she explained, trying to mimic her teacher's mannerism and tone when he lectured her in serious matters.

It appeared it worked, because the two stared at her with wide eyes. Then Welf chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Dwelling on the past won't do us any good, hm?"

"Not really," Lili denied, smiling slightly as she saw her success. Lisa in turn groaned and rubbed her forehead.

"Gods, I feel stupid now..." She gestured around the room, leaning back in her chair. "This is a party at the Hostess and here I am moping around with a bandaged leg."

Welf grunted in agreement and Lili said back down again in satisfaction, hands on her hips.

"So, no more being down?" She asked and the two of them sighed.

"Yeah..." Then Lisa leaned forward and grinned at Lili. "Almost forgot. Congratulations."

"Hm. Good job," the blacksmith said as well and the Pallum tilted her head.

"For what?"

"Everything. Level up, surviving, new family..." The supporter paused and bit her lip, before pointing at herself, then at her teammates. "Speaking of family, will this…?"

Lili quickly shook her head and rested her chin on her hand.

"We're still a team, guys. I made sure of that."

The two let out a sigh of relief, before Welf crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Level up didn't go to your head then, ey?"

"Well, you need to call me boss until you level up yourselves, but sure," Lili countered in a coy tone. This set them off, making them laugh loudly. The Pallum covered her stomach, trying to calm herself, while Lisa buried her face into her arms and Welf hit the table with tears in his eyes. Not that any of that bothered anyone, considering how loud the Hostess was anyway. Though it did gather some attention, but most of them took it in stride, chalking it up to the party atmosphere.

After a while, they finally managed to get a hold of themselves, taking deep breaths as they stopped laughing. Still, Lili couldn't get rid of the smile on her face. A good talk with her team, they didn't blame themselves anymore…

She stood up, deciding that she should get back to her own table and her own food.

"Try to act like you aren't loners, alright?" She said with a smirk and Lisa clicked her tongue, mimicking the expression.  
"Right back at you. I don't see you walking around and talk to others."  
Lili froze for a moment and heard Welf chuckle a bit. Quickly, she put up a brave facade, trying to ignore the sweat drop as she crossed her arms.

"I can fix that real quick."

"Ryuu doesn't count," the blacksmith countered and pointed across the room, as said elf was serving a table. "She's busy anyway, isn't she?"

Lili in turn sighed and scratched her right cheek.

"Well, I guess I should try to interact more with the others..."

"In a meaningful way?" Lili asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that." Lili took a deep breath as she looked around, before locking onto a target. "Alright, here goes nothing..."

As she moved away from the table, she could hear her teammates shout...their encouraging comments.

"We will bring flowers for your funeral!"

"I will prepare a speech!" The supporter giggled loudly in turn.

The Pallum's eyebrow twitched, but she moved on regardless. She would pay them back eventually.

* * *

 **Celebration 7.2**

Lili thought that the way to the Hostess was paved with whispers and hostility from certain people. But as she walked past the tables, it only showed her how naive she was. At least before this moment, she had the excuse of being talked to. Now she was the one who actually tried to start a conversation on her own, which would appear rather brazen for most.

Many females in the tavern took an exception to that, as well as some males, but they were the exception, not the rule. Glares, whispers, mugs hitting the table a bit louder than they should...

Overall, the hostility kinda picked up with every step. The reason?

Well, maybe making a beeline to the captain and the Amazon Sisters of the family wasn't such a smart idea. Well, no take backs anymore. When she caught Finn's eyes, she waved awkwardly. Without missing a beat, the man gave her his handsome smile and like the gentleman he was, stood up and moved a chair for her. Coincidentally it was directly to his left.

Obviously, the death glares intensified. But they didn't compare to the older one of the amazon twins, who grounded her teeth so hard, Lili nervously wondered whether her teeth first gave in or her facial muscles. The younger sister didn't have such misgivings and instead grinned at Lili, who sat down with hunched shoulders.

"Coming to the big guys right off the bat?" Tiona let out a giggle and leaned forward to lightly pat the level two on the shoulder. "I already see that I'm going to like you!"

Lili showed an awkward smile at her as Tiona went back to her seat. The Pallum wasn't someone who would call herself socially awkward and she recovered a lot from her days in the Soma family, but that did not mean she was completely fine with the strongest adventurer in town. Coupled with the eyes on her and that she wasn't with her teammates…

Yeah, Lili was nervous yet again. She wondered if she could one day reach the art of not giving a damn like her teacher.

"I'm...not imposing, right?" She asked nervously and to her surprise, it was the older amazon who raised her hand in a placating manner. Tione visibly calmed down a lot for some reason, though she wasn't very expressive in turn. It was one of the most neutral expressions Lili ever saw and she lived with a guy who covered his face.  
"Of course not. Our captain gave you a seat, didn't he?" The amazon said with a sigh, but then raised an eyebrow at her as she rested her left cheek in her palm."Why so nervous?"

Probably because half of the family including Tione, were busy plotting her death but Lili couldn't say that, she thought dryly. She could have just lied about the other, more acceptable reason, shrug it off...But lying to her new family on the first day?

It was a new beginning, so Lili decided to bare her feelings in the open. As embarrassing as it was.

"S-sorry, it's just..." Lili let out a sigh and stared at the table, playing with her hair a little. "Well, this family is basically a bunch strangers an-and...I s-sparred with you, so..." Lili awkwardly coughed and blushed a bit at admitting it. But what did Obsidian always say? The best way to become friends is fighting with them. Or against them. Or in her case, getting beaten up.

Well, whatever the actual saying was, the young Pallum actually felt a lot more comfortable with Finn and Tione than with the thought of interacting with people she never met before. She dared a peek at the people around her.

The younger amazon and the Braver took her explanation in stride, smiling at her as an encouragement. To her surprise, Tione's expression softened up considerably and Lili could swear she could see a small smile.

"It's okay." She let out an amused sigh. "I guess our family is a bit overwhelming. Just take your time and you'll fit right in."

Lili blinked in a dumbfounded manner. That was...rather out of character, in her opinion. It caught her off guard a lot and she nodded slowly.

"T-thank you..."

She wasn't the only one who was surprised by the Jormugand, considering that her sister stared at her with wide eyes, while Find scratched his chin with an intrigued look. The former clapped her hands together in astonishment.

"Wow sis, here I thought you hated her," the girl said bluntly and Tione's eyebrow twitched slightly, her smile gaining an edge of annoyance.

"I'm a professional. And hate is a strong word. Besides, getting jealous as a teenager would be beneath, I realize..." She took a deep breath, then narrowed her eyes at Lili as she pointed at her. "But let's make this clear, I will not lose to you."

This was a serious moment, Lili concluded. Sadly, her mouth moved faster than her brain, as it decided to go into default mode.

Default, as in default interaction with her teacher. Because of that...

"I'm pretty sure that there is nothing I can win at against you, but that's my humble opinion," she said in a flat tone, raising her eyebrow and looked Tione over for a moment. Then she let out a dry snort. "Well, except being short, I guess."

Once her brain caught up, Lili bit her lip and tried to act casually as she pushed herself away from the table, her chair balanced on its back legs. Obviously, she failed, considering the sweat that ran down her face as the three top class adventurers stared at her.

Luckily for her, they didn't look offended. More...intrigued.

"Huh, so you do that too," the tomboy said, her right index finger against her lips. Lili in turn raised her eyebrow.

"Do what?"

"Sass like Mister Mummy," Tiona replied in turn with a grin.

"I'm not li-" Lili paused and processed the words, before tilting her head with a weirded out expression. "Mister Mummy?"

The amazon in turn gestured around her face.

"Yeah. Old man. Looks like a mummy." A small giggle escaped her and she waved her hand. "Anyway, same kind of sass."

"I can remember the one time with poor Lefiya," Tione said with a sigh, but smiled nonetheless. The newcomer chuckled awkwardly, already having a feeling where this was going.

"What did he say?" She asked out of politeness sake and Finn rubbed his chin, closing his eyes to focus.

"Well, when she had problems carrying the bags, Noir helped her out."

Before Lili could ask what he did after that, the smaller amazon cleared her throat and grimaced, mimicking Lili's teacher.

"If this is your limit of what you can carry, I don't wanna know how frail you were before your blessing," Tiona rasped out, then giggled and crossed her arms behind her head with a grin. "That's when Riveria stepped in and they had their usual back and forth."

The student smirked as well, crossing her arms as she leaned back.. Yeah, that sounded like him.

"Your impression is terrible," Tione commented with dry amusement and her sister rubbed her throat uncomfortably, coughing a bit.

"It's killing me already." Then with enthusiasm, she raised her cup. "Nothing this drink can't fix!"

As she downed the drink, the more...well endowed amazon shuddered playfully and hugged herself.

"Thank the gods he stopped doing that. His voice was so damn creepy!"

Finn nodded in agreement and the other Pallum smiled wryly. Yeah, Obsidian's voice was creepy. Badass sometimes, but cr-

Wait.

Lili tilted her head in confusion, crossing her arms. Was?

"He stopped?" She asked in a shocked tone. She remembered how reluctant he was to do anything that showed how he was in the past. Only reason he talked normally around her was because he was comfortable with Lili.

Now that she thought about it...He wasn't as relaxed as usual around the Loki family. Looking back, she realized it was because he talked normally in an environment that wasn't his comfort zone. Lili could faintly remember the small surprise on Riveria's face when he started to converse with her after dealing with Bete.

Did that mean he forced himself to talk normally at that point? But why would he do that?

She rubbed her forehead in irritation. Ugh, too many questions and no answers. Again. Sometimes she wished her teacher was more transparent.

Anywho, she shook her head and decided not to break her head over it and looked back up, only to see the three top adventurers stare at her in a questioning manner. She blushed slightly. Right, getting lost in her thoughts was a bad thing at a party.

"I assume you already knew how he sounded like from before?" Finn asked politely, ignoring the fact that Lili did not notice the voice thing. At least his tone made the amazons make their shock not too apparent anymore and the student felt a bit grateful for that. Anyway, to answer the question she scratched the back of her head, remembering the last times she heard Obsidian's true voice.

"You could say that..." She said awkwardly, as she realized she only heard him talk normally twice. One time when he was pissed at her and the other time when she almost died. Not a great track record, she had to admit that.

"Hoh, must be nice to be so close," Tione said, grinning lightly.

Lili smiled back awkwardly, but wasn't sure what to say. It was kind of embarrassing to confirm that yes, she did get along with her teacher a lot. The old, more cynical part of her whispered to her that this was a probe, to figure out more about Obsidian. Either way, she didn't say anything and if the amazon was disappointed, she didn't show it as she brushed away her long hair before resuming eating.

"Anyway, how are you doing, Liliruca?" Her new captain asked and Lili internally shuddered at this. Great. Small talk. Not her best topic.

"Oh, you know..." She started lamely and wiggled with her hand before shrugging. "Relatively fine. I mean...level up. Still processing that..." Lili sighed and let out an awkward giggle. "I have to thank Aiz later when I have time..."

"Considering how often she smashed you against the wall, I think you two are even."

Hearing Tione's amused comment, Lili rubbed her stomach unconsciously, remembering how many tries it took the Sword Princess to properly control her strength. The tomboy's widened threw her arm around her sister with a giggle.

"Oh, oh, I have to hear this one!"

With that, the sisters became engrossed in their own conversation and Lili wondered in that moment how it would be if she ever had a sister. It looked like it was nice.

"You know, you are quite lucky."

"Hm?" The girl let out absentmindedly, turning to Finn, who folded his hands on the table.

"With your teammates and your teacher. You must be happy having such close friends."

Lili blinked for a moment and leaned back on her chair.

Lucky.

Now that she thought about it, it was quite the coincidence that she met Welf and that Lisa would become an adventurer around the same time she did. It was suspicious, but hey, she had friends, so what if some manipulation was involved? It was positive for her.

Because of that, a soft expression appeared on her face as she looked down on the table.

"They can be weird and exhausting sometimes but...they are my team." She looked back up to her captain and smiled. "Thanks for letting me work with them."

"No problem. Families working with each other isn't that rare and if it is only two individuals, I don't see the harm," he replied warmly, before scratching his chin with intrigue. "Hm. Not many hit off that quickly. I am quite surprised that you actually used your friends as a condition to join the family."

"Is it that weird?" She asked. Sure, she knew best that adventurers could be greedy shits to each other, but she kinda hoped it wasn't that rare to meet decent people. Finn chuckled a bit and looked...sheepish?

"From personal experience...let's say that an elf, a dwarf and a pallum entering a family isn't just the start of a bad joke." Letting out a sigh, he seemed to delve into memories as he stared at the ceiling. "We were like oil and fire. I'm surprised we managed to bond as much as we did."

That sounded surprising.

Lili frowned for a moment and shook her head.

Wait, it wasn't on second thought. She saw how the Nine Hell was like around her teacher. Probably shouldn't comment on that, she decided and instead crossed her arms with a grin.

"I guess near death is a good motivator."

"Probably," he replied with amusement, before extending his hand with a charming smile. "I look forward working with you."

Accepting the handshake, Lili tried not to jump out of her chair when she heard wood creaking nearby.

"Sis, the table is cracking."

"Something is going to crack, alright..."

That exchange only told her to not make eye contact. She could feel the anger and Lili could somewhat understand why. Tione had a crush on Finn and Finn...

Even though she was still a teenager, she wasn't blind. And maybe some part in her denied the obvious, but now Lili had to face it.

He was flirting with her. Or at least, tried to test the waters, see how she ticked and all that. She frowned slightly as she let go of the hand, making Finn tilt his head a bit in a confused manner.

By all means...she didn't feel anything, now that she got over the whole being famous thing. Sure, he was handsome and nice, but...that was it. Maybe a bit flattered, but nothing that would make a girl squeal and dream about marriages or something.

Not to mention the age difference. Also, she liked to stay alive and fangirls were one of these things she didn't want to have any experience with.

Besides, Obsidian was very clear about dating.

"No dating until you are old enough. Don't wanna make any bad choices."

Huh, he sounded like a father there. Not that there was anything wrong with it.

Lili blinked at the thought. Where did that come from? Shaking it off, she focused back on Finn, trying to figure out how to convey her message in a gentle manner.

Screw it, Noir school of communications it was.

"Uhm..." She awkwardly started, but then took a deep breath before bowing her head, biting her lip at the incoming storm. "You are aware I am fifteen, right? Sorry, not interested."

On the other hand, her teacher was strong enough that it allowed him to be a social dick.

The three top class adventurers were dead silent, as if they were frozen in time and Lili couldn't help but glance helplessly around, when her eyes met her teacher's. He stared in a blank manner, before raising his thumb with a neutral face.

Lili immediately and politely flipped him off.

Then she heard the sounds. It started as a wheezing, but then it became a giggle, before finally escalating into rumbling laughter as a fist hit the table several times.

At least Tiona found this amusing. Her sister had less of an obvious reaction, but she still had to cover her mouth and face away from her captain.

Speaking of which, she had to admit that he looked cute when he blushed. At least he was still smiling, so there was that. Anywho, once Tiona calmed down, she sent a grin at her captain.

"That...was amazing! You really are like your teacher!" She gasped out, at least somewhat calm despite the occasional giggle escaping her. "I never saw someone shut our captain down like that!"

"Well, I for one accept my newest sister in arms!" Tione exclaimed with a grin, but then faltered a bit when she glanced at Finn. "N-no offense, captain!"

He in turn waved her off with a chuckle, his flush gone already.

"None taken. I guess I was laying it a bit thick here and there." He turned to Lili with a sheepish expression."I hope I didn't scare you off."

Lili in turn shook her head.

"No! It was...well, nice I guess?" She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Maybe my opinion will change in the future, but for now, I don't wanna think about this whole...stuff."

"Fair enough," he said, nodding in understanding and Lili let out a sigh of relief.

Well, this whole conversation went better than expected and it looked like this was the best opportunity to leave.

Lili still had to make some rounds and needed to move her legs anyway, so this seemed to look like a good point to stop this. Standing up, she bowed slightly.

"I should go. I have to thank Aiz." She smiled a bit. "It...was fun to talk."

"She's over there," Tiona replied helpfully, pointing with her finger in the direction, before grinning widely. "Have fun!"

Lili nodded with gratitude and waved to the other two who waved at her politely and went on her way.

Hopefully Aiz gained some more social skills or this was going to be an awkward thank you to make.

* * *

 **Celebration 7.3**

Considering the narrow spaces she had to move through, Lili thanked her species' trait of being small as she slithered her way between tables, waitresses (she waved to Ryuu who waved back) and drunks. At last though, she squeezed herself through two rather wide men before she almost stumbled against the table that Aiz was located at. Patting herself down as she adjusted her clothing, Lili looked up with an awkward smile. The Sword Princess' eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"Liliruca," she said, nodding as a greeting and the Pallum waved with her hand a little.

"Lili is fine." She pointed at a free chair next to Aiz and tilted her head. "Can I sit down?"

The stoic girl in turn nodded and moved a bit to her right.

"Of course."

"Thanks." Sitting down, Lili let out a sigh. Moving through the masses was exhausting. "Speaking of which...I wanted to thank you for saving me."

Aiz in turn smiled at her softly.

"It was no problem."

Smiling back, Lili leaned back on her chair and let her eyes wander. They didn't wander far before they stopped at a pouting elf right next to Aiz. Lili blinked and rubbed her eyes.

Nope, the Pallum did in fact miss the orangish ponytailed elf with robes that screamed mage at her at the table. It looked like Lili barged into a private conversation between her and Aiz. Lili bit her lip.

Damn, now she felt like an ass. Damage control.

"Hi, I'm Liliruca Arde," she said loudly, extending her hand with a forced grin. Internally, she was screaming.

Memo to self, more naps before parties Lili concluded because her social skills were usually better than this.

Obviously Lefiya was not impressed as her frown intensified and her hands' grip on her silverware tightened.

"I know," she growled out, but then snapped out of it with wide eyes. With a furious blush, she dropped her knife and work and frantically waved her hands in front of her. "I-I mean, I heard! Not that nobody didn't hear it!" An awkward pause later and she bowed her head deeply. "I'm Lefiya Viridis!"

Way to go, Lili dryly thought to herself. Not only forgetting that elves don't do touches, but now she made the girl feel bad for her animosity. Sure, maybe it was uncalled for, but Lili felt bad nonetheless.

"Sorry if I interrupted something," Lili said, trying to fix the situation, but if anything she only made it worse when the elf wildly shook her head.

"N-no! It's not problem! Really!" With a force smile, she turned to the girl sitting to her right. "Isn't that right, Aiz?!"

"Yes," she nodded, apparently ignoring her friends(?) panic. Then, she turned to Lili and tilted her head with a small frown. "How did you become so strong?"  
Lili and Lefiya blinked.

That came out of nowhere, but Lili kind of expected the social grace of a rock. Trying to buy time, Lili tapped the table awkwardly as she tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

Not fazed by the atmosphere, the Sword Princess pressed on, leaning forward a bit. Honestly, it intimidated Lili a little.

"You told me you were a supporter for a long time before becoming an adventurer." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "It has been barely two months since we had that sparring session."

At that moment, Lefiya jumped off her seat in shock.

"You sparred with Aiz?!" She yelled in disbelief. Then she noticed the stares she was receiving and sunk into her chair with a blush, playing around with her index fingers. "Err, not that there is anything wrong with it..."

Lili expected the elf to react to the time thing more than the sparring, but the Pallum only welcomed it. Though Lefiya's...obsession worried her a little.

Anyway, speaking of time, now that Lili thought about it, it was extremely weird, but she always pushed the thought aside because she didn't want to taint her memories with her teacher. But now that she was confronted, properly confronted…

Lili regretted not coming up with an explanation, because the cynic in her just knew this was going to bite her in the ass sooner or later. Apparently it was sooner in this case. Time to wing it, Noir style.

"Coincidence, I can assure you," she tried to said smoothly, ignoring the sweat dropping from her forehead. Averting her eyes, she looked all over the place as she bit her lip. "Well, for me being...strong...ehh..."

She was drawing a blank and that only made her sweat more. She could feel the judging stares from Lefiya and Aiz alike.

How was Lili supposed to explain it? Her teacher was bullshit? She worked hard? None of these were satisfactory to herself, much less to others. But she had to explain it, so…

The girl sighed and scratched the back of her head. Welp, might as well throw all of her ideas out and see what sticks for herself, she thought.

"I guess...it's being lucky?" Lili slowly started off in an unsure manner and tapped her chin. "I mean, I got training and all that...and fighting off an army and almost dying is apparently enough to level up? Or you could say that after being a supporter for so long...I guess the gods saw it fit that my change of character was...worthy enough of leveling up?"

The two other girls blinked at Lili and she sighed as she slumped down on her chair.

Gods, was she talking out of her ass. Just like her teacher. Why couldn't he teach her less useful, but more socially acceptable stuff? At least it sounded like it made sense. That was all she could ask for. What did she know about a Blessing anyway?

"Will he train me as well?"

Lili entire body froze at the sudden question and almost mechanically, she turned her head to look at Aiz. Despite the stoic expression, there was some kind of fire in her eyes which intimidated Lili a little. Before she could say anything though, Lefiya interjected with a flushed face.  
"A-Aiz, there is no need for you to get a trainer!" She yelled with indignation and the Pallum couldn't help but glare at the elf.

Did she insinuate that Obsidian wasn't good enough for the oh so great Sword Princess? Well, sure, he was not the best, but he did the job well. Lili didn't even die once yet, just like he promised during training!

At that thought, the Pallum blinked. Wait, one could only die once. Did he implicate he died more than once? Or was it a metaphor he _almost_ died more than once? The girl clicked her tongue. Damn it, she never knew when he was completely serious, exaggerating or bullshitting stuff.

Well, whatever. He was still a good man and the mage deserved a good glare for the implication.

When Lefiya noticed Lili, she blushed and sunk into her chair in embarrassment. Satisfied, Lili turned to Aiz, who patiently waited for an answer.

"Well...you have to ask him." Lili twirled with her hand at the top adventurer. "I mean, I don't know how much of a help he can be, considering he isn't..." Lili took in a deep breath and averted her bitter eyes. "Active."

Lili ignored the weird looks she received as she let out a deep sigh and tapped her chin in thought.

They were about even, if Lili understood his story correctly, so there wouldn't be much he could teach Aiz that she didn't already know. They could spar, the Pallum admitted, but that was it.

Lili shrugged after her little thinking period. If Aiz wanted to and Obsidian was willing, who was she to interfere?

Anyway, with that done, the Sword Princess simply nodded. Then, the three of them sat there. Staring at each other and occasionally taking a sip or a bite from their food.

The Pallum sighed. Awkward silence. Hurray, Lili thought dryly. She needed an ice breaker and she already had an idea. When in doubt, always link up to the last topic.

"So...how did you first level up?" She asked the round with a smile. That smile quickly fell when the two other girls flinched at her words and seemed a little uncomfortable.

By now, Lili didn't even feel bad about her social failings and simply felt pissed off. But she was a skilled person. Deep breaths, close eyes for a moment, picture of coolness back in action. In the time she did that, Lefiya cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I...leveled up outside Orario."

Lili in turn stared at her with wide eyes.

"Wow, really?" She tilted her head with interest as she crossed her arms. "Didn't know there were so many monsters out there."

At the words, the mage let out a strained giggle, before dropping her shoulders with a depressed sigh. The Pallum leaned away in shock, as she could swear that there were dark clouds over the elf's head.

"There...aren't..." Lefiya admitted and averted her eyes in shame. "I leveled up in my home land's school when I was eleven."

Lili glanced at Aiz, who nodded in confirmation and then let out an impressed whistle.

"That's really impressive." Leaning forward a bit, she smiled. "What did you do?"

"Nothing special..." The elf muttered and started to poke her plate in depression. Lili in turn narrowed her eyes.

That sounded like she meant it quite literally. Which didn't make sense, because it was obvious the girl was a genius of some sort. Lili could faintly remember bits and pieces of applause and pride from Riveria when she visited Obsidian, so that self esteem was all on the elf.

The bad self esteem reminded her of Obsidian. Which in turn pissed her off in a way. Because of that, her tone was a bit more gruff than usual when she leaned back on her chair.

"Well, Blessings don't lie. If you leveled up, you did something to deserve it."

"I don't feel like I deserved this," Lefiya countered, eyes still low and Lili waved her off just as Aiz opened her mouth with concern.

"Doesn't matter, those are the rules." The Pallum pointed at herself. "I mean, sometimes I don't feel like I deserved my level up as well but I accept the gods decision."

And in extension Obsidian's opinion who said that she deserved it, but they didn't need to know that. Anywho, her two technically seniors stared at her with wide eyes and Lefiya stood up, indignation on her face.

"You fought back a monster party! How could you-"

"I didn't win. I had to be saved," Lili interrupted her with a small growl. Startled, the elf sat back down, but Lili could swear there was some sort of...understanding in both Lefiya's and Aiz' eyes? Well, whatever. She shook her head and rested her arms on the table and her head on the arms. She gave them a melancholy smile. "Besides, if it weren't for my teammates whittling down the numbers or my teacher teaching me stuff...I would have been dead, so...yeah." Lili shrugged. "You have to have done something right or else you wouldn't be where you are right now."

The elf stared at Lili for a while, her eyes showing her pondering inside her. Then, she cracked a nervous, embarrassed smile.

"I...guess I did manage to do the toughest tasks..." She muttered, scratching her cheek with a small giggle and looked away. Lili in turn grinned.

Another soul saved from depression. Well, one step into saving. She wasn't that naive to believe this was it for the operation. But hey, small victories.

"See? Everyone here deserves to be here." She turned to Aiz then, smile still in place. "Speaking of deserve, how did you level up, Aiz?"

Being the center of attention in the three way conversation, the Sword Princess fidgeted a bit in her chair with a neutral expression. Then she stayed silent for a while, as if picking her words carefully. Lili in turn waited patiently, though Lefiya fidgeted a bit as well at the silence.

"I leveled up when I was eight," Aiz softly said after a while and Lili nodded, chin rested in her right hand.

"Right, it only took you a year too, huh? Record holder and all that. How did you manage that?"

"I tried very hard," the adventurer in question replied and then the trio were silent.

Lefiya cleared her throat awkwardly and Lili shifted in her seat. Still not response. The two girls shared a glance, before looking back at Aiz, who remained as stoic as ever.

"And…?" Lili decided to ask with a raised eyebrow and Aiz in turn shrugged, though her face was a little...stiff.

"That was it. It was nothing special," she replied and Lili noticed how she avoided eye contact. Did she know that Lili could somewhat read her? Well, too bad that it was useless.

Nobody could withstand the power of blunt force.

"Aiz, most seven to eight year olds don't just level up by doing nothing special," Lili said dryly, sending a flat look at the Sword Princess. Then she twirled her hand dismissively, ignoring Lefiya's shocked gasp at her disrespect. "Unless they have some sort of second blessing or something, but you don't have that, so what did you do?"

For some reason, Aiz froze for a moment and her eyes glazed over like she had a flashback. While Lefiya looked concerned, Lili raised her hand and gave her a shrug. It wasn't their business and Lili suspected it was some weird stuff that happened to Obsidian as well. He was bullshit as well and didn't like his goddess, so maybe it was something like that.

Anyway, they waited while Aiz was busy with her flashback thing. When she snapped out of it, she blinked for a moment and then blushed slightly at her spacing out.

"I...killed a lot of things." She paused, bit her lip as if she struggled with something, then shrugged. "Then I had a hard battle and then I leveled up."

Well, that was more than before, Lili thought dryly.

"You are not good at this, are you?" She asked with a small smirk. Then... Aiz pouted in response.

That...was actually kinda cute, Lili thought, her face heating up a little. Lefiya seemed to agree with her a lot, considering how she covered her face with what sounded like a muffled squeal and a red face as well. Shaking her head quickly, Lili crossed her arms before distracting herself. "Not proud of your past self?"

Aiz nodded lowly with a sigh.

"You could say I was...obsessed with becoming stronger." She cleared her throat and nodded in self approval. "I got better."

It sounded like she was still obsessed, but Lili wasn't that dumb to call her out on it. Maybe if she was better at that "Talk Jutsu" thing her teacher was talking about. Or once she got to know the sword prodigy better, but until then, she wouldn't step on landmines she could see.

"Lefiya?" Aiz' question shook Lili out of her musing. Following her gaze, she saw the elf stare at something with wide eyes. Then, she raised a shaky finger in disbelief.

"Lady Riveria is..." She started and couldn't get the words out. Lili and Aiz looked at where she was pointing at and both made an "oh" sound when they saw what Lefiya saw.

Riveria sat next to Obsidian, laughing at something he just said. He in turn looked like he enjoyed himself, shaking his head in amusement while biting into his chicken. At the sight, Lili grinned as a warm feeling dwelled up in her chest.

Perfect timing to leave the table. With that in mind, she stood up and bowed to her family members.

"Well, if you excuse me, I will interrupt them."

"Why would you want to interrupt them?!" Lefiya asked in shock and Lili's grin widened.

"Student's duty. You should do that too. It's really fun."

Lili didn't hear the elf's reply nor Aiz' goodbye when she stalked over to her target.

* * *

 **Celebration 7.4**

By now Lili could say she became an expert in navigating through the Hostess when it was full. She didn't run into anyone at all and made it through in no time. Anyway, she didn't miss a beat when she arrived at the table, dropped to Obsidian's right in the middle of their laugh and crossed her arms with a smirk.

"So is it just me or does Lefiya worship Aiz a bit too much?" She asked nonchalantly. To Riveria's credit, she only choked on her food for a moment and barely blushed as she tried to get her composure back. Obsidian on the other hand didn't even miss a beat to ruffle her hair with a grin.

"Hello as well, Lili. I'm fine, how are you doing?" He asked sarcastically.

The Pallum rolled her eyes, but didn't slap his hand away. Instead, she let out a scoff and leaned back on her chair.

"Teacher, I know you don't give a crap about those things," she countered, readjusting her hair when he removed his hand. Then her teacher waved her off as he supported his left cheek on his left hand.

"Not during a party. I know my social etiquette," he said dryly and this time it was Riveria who scoffed, her composure back in full force.

"That is surprising," she replied dryly and Obsidian threw her a dirty look.

"A lot surprises you, but that comes with being a princess."

For a moment, the elf's eyes widened. But then, a more genuine smile appeared after staring at Obsidian's flat look and then huffed playfully.

"Just like you, buying into stereotypes."

"I'm more mono than stereo," he replied with a snort. Lili raised an eyebrow at that, sharing a glance with the noble, who shook her head, equally looking confused. At the same time, the man paused and blinked at the table a few times before nodding slowly. "Right, doesn't exist here..." Clapping his hands, he took a deep breath and turned back to Lili as he threw his arm over the chair back. "Having fun?"

The student in turn shrugged and wiggled with her hand with an unsure sound escaping her throat.

"Well, outside the whole 'socialize with an army of people you don't know'...probably?"

"Like dumping your captain and laughing like a hyena with your teammates?" Obsidian asked in a teasing tone, raising his eyebrow. Lili immediately blushed and hit him against the arm.

"How many people saw that?!" She hissed at him and the man waved her off.

"Just me." His grin grew wider. "Still nice."

"Fuck you," Lili bit back, face growing redder than before. In turn, her teacher scoffed and sipped on his water.

"Sorry, not interested." Letting out a small chuckle, he pointed at her in amusement. "Wow, today is the night of dumping Pallum."

Lili was this close to jumping on the table and then drop kicking the bastard in the face. Gritting her teeth, she realized she had a long way to go before she could successfully tease her teacher. Before she could further contemplate her options however, Lili got reminded of one thing she forgot via a polite cough.

The two of them were not alone. Slowly, the student turned her head to Riveria, who stared at her and Obsidian in a neutral manner with folded hands. Though Lili could swear her mouth twitched a bit, so she probably found this amsuing.

"You rejected Finn?" She asked politely and before Lili could reply, Obsidian nodded with crossed arms.

"As graceful as a crippled old man."

"I just didn't want to have any misunderstandings pop up!" The girl yelled enraged, slamming her hands on the table, but then realized what she was actually doing and sat down with a blush, eyes lowered. While Obsidian snickered, she heard a tongue click. Then Riveria raised her voice, not sounding offended at all.

"And that's good. I'm proud of you." The elf let out a deep sigh. "Heaven knows how much drama he caused alone though lack of proper communication..."

Lili's face was blank when she looked up. The girl did not know what to do with that tidbit of information. Well, at least the woman wasn't offended on his behalf. Either way, Obsidian took a bite from his chicken and gestured at Lili with the left over bone.

"Anywho, about the worship thing you mentioned earlier...eh, I've seen gayer," he said casually with a shrug before he continued chewing on his food. The Pallum meanwhile raised an eyebrow with a frown.

"In real life or in books?" She asked in a skeptical tone.

"Real life, definitely." He nodded gravely, then glanced at Riveria. "Looks pretty harmless to me."

The noble in turn covered her face with a sigh and shook her head.

"If she wouldn't be so distracted when Aiz arrives, it would be much easier for me. Alas, one cannot be picky about their students," she said wistfully and Obsidian grunted in agreement.

"You tell me."

Lili's frown intensified and she pouted at her teacher.

"Ey. Still here," she said, pointing at herself. Obsidian laughed at that and ruffled her hair again, this time with a warm smile.

"Just joking. I know you're a good student."

Lili did not preen at those words, but she took pride in them nonetheless. Maybe she giggled with a small blush, but that was it. Really.

"As do I. Lefiya is the same caliber. Bright mind, hardworking."

Though with Riveria joining in, she was totally preening now, puffing out her chest, ignoring the fact that she was blushing or that other people saw her do that.

Of course, at that moment, Obsidian had to ruin the moment as he wiggled his hand at Riveria.

"Eh, Lili doesn't have shitty self esteem, so not exactly the same."

If the elf was bothered by his language, she didn't show it and instead sighed in minor annoyance.

"I am working on it. But without proper accomplishments on her own...there is only so much I can do."

"Maybe you should throw her against a monster party. Worked for me," Lili replied playfully and Riveria scoffed in response.

"I don't believe you two have the same...styles," she replied slowly, eyes closed. Then she threw a glance at Obsidian with one eye open. "Also, it sounds like something Noir would do."

Obsidian and Lili chuckled at the same time. But then, the Pallum realized something.

Compared to the other top class adventurers in Loki's family, she was damn casual with Riveria, who was an executive for crying out loud. Yet Lili nor Riveria cared at all. Guess seeing the noble freak out over books was a very good icebreaker.

Once they calmed down, Obsidian suddenly turned rather quiet and somber. Before Lili could question that, he turned to the mage at the table with an awkward air around him as he scratched the back of his head.

"Before I forget...Thanks for helping," he said with a bow, glancing at Lili for a moment. Riveria in turn smiled softly and nodded back.

"It would leave a sour taste in my mouth if I denied you after you pleaded with me like that."

The student's eyes widened and she whipped her head at the teacher. He in turn clicked his tongue in annoyance at the elf with quite a strong glare that caused Riveria to back off a bit in shock.

"You begged her?" Lili asked with some force in her voice and Obsidian let out a deep breath, trying to relax.

"I wasn't in a good headspace, okay?" He replied, his voice turning raspy. At the same time, he rubbed his chest a bit, as if it itched or burned. However, what tipped her off the most was the fact that his eyes glazed over as he stared at the table.

Lili's eyes narrowed at these things. Something was wrong. Like a shark that smelled blood, she leaned towards him with a deep frown.

"Teacher, are you alright?" She asked a bit louder than needed. But it was enough to snap him out of it. He blinked for a moment, before nodding slowly.

"Yeah, yeah...why do you ask?"  
"You've been rubbing your chest. You don't usually do that," Lili said with disapproval and crossed her arms, her frown growing deeper. "Also, the voice thing."

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to object. Then, he deflated and let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes in an exhausted manner.

"Fine..." He muttered, his voice returning to normal and gestured at her. "I feel conflicted. About all this. I...guess you are growing up too fast for me. All the danger and stuff...not good for my heart."

Suffice to say, the mood became quite awkward and the student couldn't help but bite her lip in guilt, remembering her near death experience.

Damn it. Here she thought she got strong enough for him, but considering she almost died, could Lili really say that? Lowering her head, she sighed. She had a long way to go, it seemed, until he stopped coddling her.

At least he recognized she was getting stronger, the girl thought dryly. Glancing at him, she frowned as he rubbed his chest again.

"There is more, isn't it?" She asked in a quiet tone. The man then gave her an unreadable expression, before looking away from her.

"Yes." Closing his eyes, he sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "Don't ask. I'll get over it."

"If you say so," Lili said in a surrendering tone, looking away as well. She wanted to push it more, but she knew when to give him a break. Judging from how tired he was, she wouldn't be surprised if he would have snapped if she went too far.

With that over, the two of them sat in silence, awkwardly poking their food or tapping the table. However, Lili then remembered that there was a third person at the table and glanced at her. What she saw...confused her.

Leaning on her right hand, the woman idly stared at Obsidian with what Lili would call curiosity. It was rather out of place. She expected a somber mood as well. Sure, there was some concern, but it was overshadowed by...casual interest. Obsidian noticed as well when he looked up and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. When Riveria didn't move at all or show any intent to speak up for a while, Obsidian slowly nodded, looking weirded out a bit.

"Okay...I gotta ask. Why are you staring at me?" He asked as he backed off a little and the elf simply smiled at that, almost having a teasing tone to it.

"You have quite the pleasant voice."

Obsidian's brain stopped at that sentence.

It was amazing that Lili could pinpoint the exact moment that occurred. That was one hell of an ice breaker, she had to admit that. And...completely out of place. Anyway, her teacher blinked a couple of times and opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly, making Riveria smile even wider. Once he managed to restart his mind, the man narrowed his eyes.

"What," he asked in a flat tone, but Lili could see how his face was burning. She leaned away from...whatever the hell was happening at the table. As if not caring at all, the noble leaned back on her chair, crossed her arms and tilted her head with her right eye closed.

"I suppose you are the type of person trying to hide one's charms in order to make others underestimate you?"

The Pallum had to resist the urge to puke at the...event in front of her.

Oh gods, Lili never saw Riveria flirt so blatantly with her teacher. Since when was she able to do that?! Weren't elves all about prim and proper and talking in circles while insulting the other?! What changed that?!

A suspicion slowly grew in her head and Lili glanced at her teacher. And her face grew flat.

Letting out choking sounds, he pointed at her, then back to himself, then back to her. After that, he glanced around, as if trying to find answers somewhere in the room. Then he looked back at the elf and coughed awkwardly.

Yup, she changed tactics because that embarrassed Obsidian the most. Unbelievable. Of course, the two of them weren't done with torturing her with this theater they were putting on.

"Yeah, of course," Obsidian managed to force out, his voice higher pitched than usual. A nervous laugh escaped him and he crossed his arms as well, terribly attempting to appear casual. "Charms. You sure you didn't hit your head?"

The noble wasn't affected by that weak defense at all. Naturally, she made an "oh" form with her mouth as if she was an innocent, clueless maiden.

"My, it's almost like my words are making you lose your composure. Maybe I should do this more often?" She asked coyly and Obsidian lowered his head, his body shaking.

"Please don't," he muttered quietly and Riveria's smile grew wider.

"Why? Can you not handle compliments?"

"Not from you," he stated and then pointed an accusing finger at her. "Because they are rare. Not because of any other reason. No, wait, because you never compliment me, period. Actually, I always thought you were incapable of compliments. Considering your taste, I would have expected it would be something screwed up, an _d stop grinning_!"

By the end of his rant, Obsidian talked faster and faster and his voice's pitch grew higher and higher. It was almost impossible for Riveria to suppress a giggle and for Lili to suppress slamming her head on the table, as amusing as this was. Anyway, the former coughed politely and then folded her hands on the table.

"I do not grin," she replied in an even and graceful tone.

The man let out a frustrated groan as he rubbed his forehead, before putting his hands on his hips.

"Okay, seriously. Why mention it now? I've been talking like that for some while," he questioned with narrowed eyes and Riveria shrugged in response.

"Changing your voice made me remember." Her grin reappeared as she leaned forward, chin on her right hand. "Does it make you so uncomfortable?"

In response, Obsidian gargled out some weird noises and Riveria laughed at that. Lili on the other hand didn't find this as amusing. The opposite, it was actually rather weird for her.

She had enough.

Lili let out a very loud cough and glared at the two of them.

"Hello?" She dryly pointed at herself. "Still here. Can you flirt when I'm not here?"

As if an explosion went off, the two of them jumped and whipped their heads at her with wide eyes. Lili couldn't help but gape.

Did they seriously forget about her?!

Anyway, they processed her words and immediately stood up at the same time, indignation and embarrassment on their faces.

"We're not flirting!" They shouted at the same time.

No surface on the planet was as flat as Lili's expression at that moment. She slowly nodded at them, making them blush even more.

"Uhuh, and I'm level seven," she replied dryly and Obsidian actually growled at her.

"You wanna have extra drills tomorrow?"

Lili shrugged, not impressed by the threat at all. But then she realized something and her eyes widened slightly.

Her teacher was out of his funk already. Riveria just managed to distract Obsidian from his inner demons in a matter of a few sentences. Lili suppressed a whistle. Nevertheless…

Lili bit her lip. Damn, she was good.

Anywho, Obsidian blinked all of a sudden and snapped his fingers as if he remembered something before pointing at Lili.

"Speaking of which…. Welf and Lisa want to join in our training. Both of them."

"Huh. Nice," Lili replied, rather neutral about the news. Then she realized what the two were going to do and she tilted her head with pity in her eyes. "Do they know?"

Obsidian in turn let out a snort.

"About me kicking your ass? Oh, they are going to find out."

Lili rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head.

"Great, now I can suffer with others together," she muttered wistfully and Riveria sighed as she rubbed her forehead, obviously not quite approving of the teaching methods. Obsidian shrugged at that and leaned back on his chair. The Pallum took the opportunity of silence to take a sip from her teacher's cup.

"Also, they want to solo an Infant Dragon without you," he said just when she had the water in her mouth and Lili spat it out in shock before snapping her head to his direction.

"What? Why?!" She yelled in indignation and her teacher shrugged nonchalantly.

"Level up."

Riveria in turn raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds reckless," she stated in a neutral tone and Obsidian waved her off.

"Eh, there is worse."

Lili wasn't as relaxed and groaned in frustration, before standing up from her chair.

"Ugh, I need to-"

She didn't managed to take a single step before Obsidian's hand grabbed her on the shoulder and pushed her back down on the chair. At the same time, he gave Lili a flat stare.

"Talk them out of this? Don't bother. They will do it whether you like it or not." He patted her on the head with a small smile. "Just be there for support if they need it."

"If you can't stop them, support them," Riveria then commented before Lili could say anything. A sigh followed that statement. "You would be surprised how many times I had to do such things."

Honestly, Lili wanted to tell them to screw off and give her teammates her opinion. But then she remembered who they were and how stubborn they could be. Besides...it wasn't like Lili didn't understand them.

If she were in her place, she wouldn't have stayed idle either. Clicking her tongue in frustration, she slumped down on the table, head on top of her crossed arms.

"Geez, these guys are trying to get themselves killed..." She muttered with a frown as she tried to relax. However, she felt the looks on her and looked up to see stares of...disappointment. She raised an eyebrow in irritation. "What?"

"I don't need to say anything," Obsidian said in an even tone and Riveria nodded in agreement.

"It does sound quite hypocritical."

Lili's face turned red as she stood up and slammed her hands down the table.

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" She objected loudly and her teacher immediately let out a dismissive snort.

"Would have fooled me."

"Indeed," Riveria said in dry amusement and Lili growled at them before she raised her finger in accusation.

"Name one occasion where I tried to get myself killed!"

Without missing a beat, the two of them shared a glance. Then, Obsidian calmly raised his cup in his right hand.

"Right after your update when running into the dungeon on a whim," he said in a flat tone, before taking a sip. Immediately after that, Riveria raised her own cup as well in both hands.

"Voluntarily sparring with Aiz who didn't know how to hold back," she said, equally flat, before also taking a sip.

Red in the face, Lili buried it under her hands, trying to tune out the amused chuckle from both adults.

"Teamed up by my teacher and an executive of my family..." She muttered, but couldn't help but smile as well.

* * *

 **Interlude: Daughter of the Wind**

Aiz Wallenstein was not a social person. Even back as a little girl, she had limited exposure to other people aside from her family. The fact that she joined the Loki family before she even reached her first decade in age and threw herself against hordes of monsters didn't help much.

She got better. A lot better. If one would compare the her now and the little girl in the dungeon, she could be called a social person. Only in comparison though.

Because of that, she didn't like parties. Yes, it was nice to see her friends and comrades enjoy themselves and celebrate. Yes, she joined because she felt it was her duty to humor them. However, it didn't mean she had to like it. Because of that, she was glad she had some alone time, after Lefiya left the table to speak with Riveria. For some reason, her cheeks were puffed up when she saw how much fun Liliruca, Obsidian and Riveria had. Was it jealousy? Aiz wouldn't know.

Speaking of Liliruca though, she didn't feel as exhausted as usual after talking with her. And Aiz had a slight suspicion why.

She seemed to...understand Aiz a little bit. Even though she was a bit blunt sometimes, but the Sword Princess couldn't call her out on it without being a hypocrite. Anyway, she seemed to have similar issues with talking to strangers and was patient with Aiz when she had to ponder over her words. The Pallum also didn't push too far when the half spirit was uncomfortable. She was grateful for that, especially when Aiz slipped up when she reacted to her comment about a "second" blessing. Her...blood could be considered as such.

Either way, Aiz could say that she liked her.

Speaking of Liliruca, Aiz' eyes fell on her teammate Lisa, a goddess and a boy she never met before. She didn't know a lot about the other three people, especially about the supporter and the boy. All she knew about the former was that her father had some kind of shop Riveria visited occasionally and she knew next to nothing about the latter. Her knowledge about the goddess wasn't a lot better as well. She knew that her name was Hestia and that her family was not exactly one of the richest. The only reason she recognizes her was because she worked at the stall with the best potato croquettes in the entirety of Orario. Other than that, she only heard that Lady Loki did not like the other goddess for reasons Aiz couldn't even dream of imagining.

Anyway, normally her eyes would just continue to wander. It wasn't like she was friends with any of them and the only reason she stopped would have been Liliruca's affiliation with them. However, that was not the case.

It was the boy that caught her attention for some reason.

He didn't look any special. Sure, his red eyes and white hair color were a bit out of place, making him look like a rabbit, but aside from that, the boy wouldn't normally remain in her memory. It was...his aura. Something was off. Something that an adventurer shouldn't have and from what she could see, he was an adventurer, as new as he was.

The Sword Princess frowned.

Aiz couldn't put a finger on the feeling she had. Therefore, she made a decision.

She needed to talk to him.

Nodding approvingly of her "plan", she stood up and made a bee line towards the Hestia table. Ignoring the stares as usual, she stopped in front of the table and received confused stares from the Hestia family. Though the male of the group blushed for some reason. She bowed in courtesy.

"Good evening." Then pointed at the free chair, to Lisa's left and the boy's right while tilting her head. "Is this seat taken?"

Hestia gave the boy a glare and rammed her elbow into his side, who in turn yelped in pain. Aiz didn't even bother to understand why that happened. Lisa on the other hand was more understandable by shrugging at her request and pulling the chair out.

"Nah, by all means," she replied with an easy going grin. Aiz nodded and sat down, politely folding her hands on her lap. For a while, they sat there in silence, with the boy next to her fidgeting around for some reason. Before she could ponder about it more, the blonde supporter cleared her throat and scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"I didn't get to say it before but…." She bowed with a soft expression. "Thank you for saving Lili."

Aiz bowed back as well, remembering what Riveria told her about accepting gratitude and all that.

"It was the least I could do," she replied in an even tone, then tilted her head. "Where is the other one? The blacksmith?"

Lisa tapped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers when she remembered and then pointed at Aiz.

"He said something about having an early morning, so he left already. Can't blame him."

"I see." Aiz nodded and decided now was the best time to transition over to her original plan. Turning to her left, she tilted her head with a neutral expression. "You weren't with them."

"Eh?" He let out, his face turning into a tomato, which made the swordswoman narrow her eyes in confusion. For some reason, that made him stutter and turn even redder.

Was she doing something wrong?

Lisa meanwhile winced sympathetically before patting the boy on the back, having to stretch a bit to reach him and shaking her head at the goddess, who seemed to be angry at something for some reason. Anyway, the supporter laughed awkwardly and rubbed her family member's back reassuringly.

"Oh, he's new. Didn't want him to go down there without preparation. Not strong enough."

"I know..." He pouted before clearing his throat and scratching his cheek with a nervous smile. "Err...I-I'm Bell C-cranel! It's-It's a pleasure!"

A bit louder than expected, Aiz noted confused. She decided to ignore it and extend her hand as a greeting.

"Aiz Wallenstein. Nice to meet you."

Staring at Bell in expectation, she patiently waited until he did his stuttering panic thing (did he have a disease?) and finally, slowly like an animal, extended his hand as well until she could grasp it. Nodding in satisfaction, Aiz then did the routine.

Handshake. Up. Down. Up. Down. Let go, nod politely and resume sitting position.

Internally, she cheered for a job well done. The boy didn't seem to freak out that much. On the other hand, he looked dazed. Aiz tilted her head with worry. Maybe the stuffy air in the tavern was getting to him?

Before she could ask though, a loud cough interjected and Aiz turned to the goddess who smiled at her. Though the mouth did twitch a bit for some reason.

"And I'm Hestia, his and Lisa's goddess!" She exclaimed rather loudly and Aiz blinked a few times.

"I...know," she replied slowly, not sure what this was about. Maybe Hestia wanted to be polite?

Social interaction was hard, she thought with an internal pout.

Luckily for her, Lisa waved with her hand and an easygoing grin at her goddess.

"Lady Hestia, please chill. It's just some friendly banter."

Hestia in turn sighed and slumped back down on the chair, crossing her arms.

"Fine..." She grumbled back and the silence returned. The Sword Princess decided to take the time to plan out how to properly talk to Bell without scaring him off or anything. She still needed to figure out why he caught her attention.

Sadly, the boy didn't get the memo and decided to speak up again, as nervous as he was as he fiddled around with his fingers.

"H-how is it like? T-to be one of the strongest adventurers?" He asked, sweating profusely and Aiz blinked at the question.

How did it feel to be...strong?

Honestly, she had no idea. Aiz never thought about it. Being strong was a tool for her. It didn't matter how it felt like, as long as she was strong enough to achieve her dream. She was still far away from that, so she had to get stronger. Being the strongest adventurer wasn't enough.

Though she couldn't say that. Instead, she shrugged with a blank expression.

"It's nice. I guess." She tilted her head, making use of the current topic. "Why do you want to know?"

Bell averted her gaze, laughing awkwardly.

"W-well..." He let out a sigh and lowered his head, staring down on the table. "I just...want to know how it might feel like."

Fair enough, the swordswoman thought, but it didn't make sense for her to ask such a question and act so nervous about it if it were just that.

As if reading her mind, the supporter to her other side leaned her chin on both of her hands and grinned widely.

"Also, it would help him achieve his dream if he had a clear picture," she explained coyly, causing her goddess to giggle. Bell on the other hand?

He became a tomato again. Aiz was starting to get hungry if he kept doing that. Not that she liked tomatoes, but reminding her of food usually caused her hunger.  
"L-lisa!" Bell exclaimed and his senior laughed in a good hearted manner, leaning back on her chair.

"Relax, it's not like I told her," she said with a hand wave. Meanwhile, Aiz' eyes widened slightly.

A dream. Nervous. Newcomer. And...

Aiz realized why he felt off to her and the realization made her heart drop. A single word appeared in her head.

Innocent.

Bell was like her. Before...that event. The event that took everything from her and tainted her soul until the little girl was essentially gone. Someone who dreamed without real worry and wanted to go on adventures, to make themselves and their family proud, because the latter was the biggest role model in their life.

He was innocent. A pure soul. An ordinary civilian even.

He did not fit in the dungeon, that would devour those that weren't ready. It would have devoured her if she didn't change. If he wasn't willing to sacrifice everything he currently was, to gain that hunger for victory, to do risk everything, he would die.

It was best to warn him about the consequences before he would die or worse, become tainted. It would be a shame for such a pure soul to get lost.

But how to do phrase it...

Taking a deep breath, Aiz decided to go with her gut feeling. Frowning a bit to show the severity of the situation, she looked Bell deep in the eye.

"You are not fit for the dungeon," she stated in a neutral tone. Then she blinked when she saw Bell's expression grow pale as if she just killed his parents. Lisa at the same time stared at her with wide eyes, as did Hestia, who also covered her mouth in shock.

Only then, did Aiz realize her mistake.

On first thought, she believed the words to be quick, efficient and clear. Now that she actually repeated her sentence and the way she said it in her head, she knew what she just did in their eyes.

Insulting Bell and questioning his capabilities.

Internally she screamed while maintaining her calm composure on the outside. As limited as her social experience was, she was sure that her words sounded harsher than she intended as well. And judging from the crushed expression on his face and the way Hestia's face grew red with fury, she wasn't sure how to fix this.

Just when Aiz was about to leave, feeling remorseful about her words, Lisa's hand shot up, her expression unreadable, but patient. Everyone stopped moving at the table and she nodded slowly.

"Please explain."

It sounded more like an order than a request. But Aiz was grateful nonetheless for being given this chance. She took a deep breath and folded her hands in front of her.

"I didn't mean to offend. I am sure that with hard work, he will become a good warrior," she slowly explained and the trio nodded with various levels of understanding. Aiz sighed and shook her head. "However..." She gave Bell a pointed look. "I worry about his mentality."

"My mentality?" He asked, tilting his head. Aiz nodded and continued on in a calm manner.

"It is not for everyone. But I know that it counts for those at...the top, myself included." She took a deep breath. "You are normal. You don't know how tough the dungeon is. But more importantly..."

Aiz trailed off, struggling with her words. She couldn't reveal too much about herself or the others. It would be too private. However, she still needed to convey the message. In the end, she decided to keep it simple. Looking at him with determination, she shook her head.

"You are too innocent. That's what I mean with being not fit for the dungeon."

Silence hung in the air and Bell lowered his head, blinking in confusion.

"Too innocent? I-I don't know what that means..." He muttered, sadness filling his expression. He opened his mouth and Aiz bit her lip, fearing he would push it. But Lisa's hand lightly tapped the table and when the attention was on her, she shrugged.

"Eh, that's what makes him special." A wide smile is directed at Bell. "The world needs some more innocence."

He blushed and opens his mouth in objection, but then, arms grabbed him by the shoulders and his face got pushed into Hestia's assets, who gave Aiz a glare.

"It only makes him cuter, so you can stuff your complaints somewhere else, Whattelsein!"

Said girl blinked and tilted her head at the mispronunciation.

"It's Wallenstein," she corrected politely. Instead of taking it in stride, the goddess huffed, while the boy flailed his arms around, still in panic.

"Whatever!" She exclaimed, but then noticed Lisa's frantic motions, her hand making cut motions in front of her throat. Then Hestia's eyes widened and let Bell go, who immediately backed off and took deep breaths, face flushed from the lack of oxygen, Aiz assumed. When he calmed down, he pouted at his family.

"G-guys! Not in front of Miss Aiz!"

The swordswoman frowned at his way of adressing her and coughed politely.

"Please, call me Aiz," she said when she had his attention and his eyes widened, before he frantically waved his hands in front of himself.

"I-I cannot-"

Before he could object however, a piece of bread was thrown at his head, making it snap back dramatically. When he rubbed the hit spot, Lisa gave him a flat stare.

"Bell, you heard the lady. Man up," she said dryly. While Hestia seemed to disapprove for some reason, she didn't say anything, so Bell lowered his head in surrender.

"O-okay..." He glanced at the Sword Princess and coughed awkwardly, before his voice grew quieter. "A-a-aiz..."

"You're weird," Aiz stated, tilting her head. When he nervously laughed, she knew she wouldn't get a straight response. Instead, she decided to switch topics. "Do you want to become strong?"

"W-well..." He scratched the back of his head, but then closed his eyes with a deep breath. Then, he looked up and had determination in his eyes. "Yes."

It was out of character, from what Aiz saw so far from him. So she narrowed her eyes, making him squirm for some reason.

"Why?" I told you what would happen. You could lose yourself."

"I won't," he immediately responded, surprising Aiz, whose eyes widened for a moment. But then the moment was gone and he cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away. "Err, I mean...I can't lose myself for my dream. That way...I would never achieve it. My grandfather always told me that to...well, you know, you have to be yourself or it wouldn't be worth it."

Now she had to wonder what his dream was. It sounded...nice. His grandfather sounded like a good man as well. She was about to nod, but then saw that he wasn't done yet, to her surprise.

"Besides..." He glanced at Lisa with a sad smile. "I don't want to be useless ever again."

"You aren't-" The supporter began to object, but Bell cut her off with a raised hand, smile still in place.

"I wasn't there with you. No, I couldn't be there for you." His smile fell and he shook his head with a sigh. "I...want to catch up. So that you guys won't in danger like that ever again."

Aiz' expression softened at that.

The urge to protect...The wish to rectify an old mistake...

He was a good person. A...kindred spirit even. Aiz couldn't help but smile. She wasn't the only one, when the two girls of the Hestia family stood up and hugged him, much to his embarassment.

"You are the best, captain," Lisa muttered with a proud smile and Bell began to fidget even more.

"C-captain?"

Lisa backed off, grin still in place as he pointed at him.

"Yeah. I mean, you clearly have higher ambitions than I do and you want to be my hero." She giggled coyly and raised her hand with enthusiasm. "So, I announce you captain of the Hestia family!"  
"Seconded!" Hestia shouted, Bell still in his embrace. The latter still tried to free himself and opened his mouth to object. However, the supporter shushed him and wiggled her finger with a smirk.

"Too bad. Two on one, we win. You're the captain now. Don't disappoint."

The rookie glanced at his goddess, who grinned as well and hung his head low in surrender. Aiz nodded in approval. She said her piece and it looked like they would at least be careful.

That was all she could ask for. Therefore, her job here was done. She found some answers and helped a newcomer.

Standing up, she bowed towards the Hestia family.

"If you excuse me, I will take my leave."

The trio waved her goodbye with various levels of enthusiasm and embarassment. As she began to walk past them however, she leaned into Lisa and closed her mouth in to her ear.

"Don't let him lose his innocence," she whispered. The supporter in turn just glanced at her.

Then, a wide grin appeared, unlike those before.

It was more similar to her comrades' grin when they showed their true nature.

Pure confidence and hunger. A challenging ton, even.

"He won't," Lisa growled and in that moment, Aiz knew that the girl in front of her would do anything to back those words up. She nodded and kept moving.

Bell Cranel was in good hands. Aiz felt a weight fall off her chest as she walked out of the Hostess.

Outside now, underneath the light of the half moon, she took in the cold, but comfortable breeze. She breathed out and relaxed.

There was nothing more soothing than the wind for her. It was her and her mother's element after all. Her awareness was wider and deeper, outside of building or the dungeon and all the stress and tension she build up inside almost seemed to leave her. Because of that, her mind began to calm down and she analyzed what happened.

It was a bit out of character from her, Aiz admitted. Usually she didn't care that much about others, but it didn't feel wrong. She wondered if others out there were like Bell and if she should help them out as well.

Then again, it meant to socialize more and she wasn't sure if-

A familiar chill ran down her spine.

Aiz immediately whipped her head around, eyes scanning the entire area. Her instincts honed from years in the dungeon screamed at her that somebody watched her. Or had been watching her. It was for a single moment, but she knew she felt it. Eyes targeting her, observing her.

The worst was...it felt familiar. And she didn't felt threatened at all. Because...

It was warm. Caring. Almost motherly.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to focus on where the chill came from and-

" _Did you watch me again?"_

" _I watch everyone. Does it bother you?"_

" _Nu-uh! You make me feel safe! Just like mommy and daddy!"_

" _Daw...you make me blush, baby wind."_

Her eyes snapped open, the memory fading, and she frantically shook her head. Then, a shaky breath escaped her as she gave up searching and leaned against the wall.

No. It couldn't be. If...she was still there, wouldn't she have contacted Aiz already? It must have been her imagination. She was gone.

Just like them.

A finger tapped her on the shoulder and the Sword Princess whirled around, arm ready to draw Desperate, the sword she always carried around. When she saw who it was, she forced her arm to stop with ease and stared at Riveria with wide eyes. The latter looked at her with concern, not fazed at all by Aiz' action, and tilted her head.

"Aiz, are you alright?" She asked and Aiz let out a deep breath, sheathing her weapon again.  
"It's nothing," she muttered and shook her head. "I just...remembered something."

Riveria's eyes widened in recognition and she took a look around. Aiz smiled a bit at her caution, grateful for it, before Riveria leaned closer in to her ears.

"Is it your parents?" She whispered and Aiz shook her head again.

"No..." She hesitated for just a moment, but then decided to reveal the truth. "My aunt, this time."

"Aunt?" The elf asked, eyes wide in surprise. Aiz didn't blame her.

This was the first time she mentioned her. She never told them about her. Only about her parents, but never...her.

Shaking her head, she sighed.

"I promised not to tell anyone about her when I was a child." A melancholy smile appeared on her face. "Even if she isn't here anymore, I want to keep it."

Riveria's eyes softened and she put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I see. If you need time to yourself, I can make up an excuse."

"That won't be necessary," Aiz said in a grateful tone and took a deep breath. "I will be right back.

The executive hesitated for just a moment. But then, she shook her head and went back inside. The moment she did so, Aiz let out a shaky breath and leaned against the wall for support.

The feeling still remained in her chest, like a phantom.

Tears formed in her eyes and she had to suppress a sniffle as she looked up to the sky.

She missed her family. Her...old family.

Mother. Father. Their comrades.

Aunt Gaia as well.


	8. Chapter 8

**Brave New World 8.1**

The air was filled with the clash of metal, the roars of monsters and the defiant screams of adventurers. A charismatic voice commanded the courageous warriors, his words reaching everyone. At the same time, chants of power filled the air, preparing powerful magic to destroy the enemy.

An ignorant person wouldn't be able to comprehend that two armies were able to fight underground. But this was the nature of the dungeon. To be specific, the Lower Levels. In comparison to the Upper Floors, each floor in the Lower Levels could be considered small city areas. Because of that, despite the fact that hundreds of adventurers created a shield wall to block off the even bigger number of bipedal, goat monsters, there was still plenty of room inside the dungeon.

Naturally, all of this was nothing new to most of the Loki Family, the top class family and dungeon explorers in Orario, only rivaled by the Frejya Family. However, there were exceptions. Newcomers were one. Guests from another Family were another. Let's say...the Hestia Family. One of them currently ran through the masses of allies, breathing heavily as he carried a big bag filled with medicine.

For Bell Cranel, official captain of the Family, this event felt like a fever dream for him. Honestly, he felt very out of place. The full force of that realization hit him when he was finally close to the shield walls and saw between the gaps.

Bell gulped and stopped for a moment, his eyes widening when he passed his fellow helpers. Being so close to the front...he only managed to properly gauge how many Fomoire were pushing against the line. Hundreds, maybe thousands of the bull monsters pushed against metal and shields that held steadfast in the face of the monster waves. The sight was...sobering.

 _A gigantic bull monster rushed him down. Bell fell flat on his back, scrambling away in panic, tears in his eyes._

 _The next moment, it got eviscerated and splattered him completely with its blood. A hand reached down to him and he looked up to the most beautiful girl in the world._

" _Are you alright?"_

He felt a shiver run down his spine, but he quickly shook it off, before resuming his running with a determined expression. He wasn't the one fighting. All he did was supply others with potions. There was no need to be afraid. Well, except of pain and death. Other than that, everything would be fine!

Bell sweated nervously. Oh gods, he was making himself panic again. Before he could completely go off the deep end, with the screams and fighting filling the air, his ears picked a certain voice up, thanks to...the habit he was forced to develope. He sharpened his hearing and...

"Captain, I need some juice!" A loud grunt, followed by an unladylike cursing. "Piss off, you hairy oversized goat!"

Yup, Lisa was calling for him. It calmed him down a bit. The blonde was always confident and it reassured him a lot. Because of that, he took a deep breath.

"Coming!" He yelled back and went into the direction where the shout came from. Luckily for him, she continued yelling at him.

"Hurry up, my throat is dry!" She shouted somewhat playfully, but also strained. This caused the rookie to quicken his pace and yell back in reassurance.  
"Almost there, Lisa!"

Right after he said that, his eyes caught the familiar ponytail left to the familiar short red hair. Sprinting forward, he tapped the girl on the shoulder and pulled out a red potion for her. The girl grinned and took it with her left hand, the right arm still in a defensive position with her shield..

"Thanks!" She said with a nod and gulped it down in one go, before throwing it back to him. Right on time as well, because she had to brace herself when another goat monster crashed into her. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back. Though her feet did skid over the ground a bit, the line didn't break. Because of that, she threw Welf to her right a smirk.

"Put some more muscle into it, Welf! What's wrong, swung your hammer too much?!" She taunted, causing the blacksmith to groan in frustration.

"Not all of us have that stupid shield skill and that nifty Ability!" He grit out between his teeth, having a lot more problems with pushing back monsters almost twice his size. Despite the serious situation, Bell couldn't help but smile.

After defeating an Infant Dragon with the help of Lili two weeks ago, they both leveled up, though both were also rather burned. Anyway, Bell saw her stat sheet personally, so he couldn't help but agree with Welf a bit.

The skill "Barrier Hold", which increased her strength and endurance while doing defensive actions, including blocking with a shield, and the ability "Strong Defense", which, as far as Bell knew, increased her natural defense even more.

She was the definition of a defender, or a "tank" as Lisa claimed they called it in Boundary.

Combined with her new shield, made out of the hide of an Infant Dragon, called Defense Dragon Shield (Welf's name), her defense was incredible for her level. Not to mention it had a nice design. It was round, just like Lisa liked it, and had a sharp, silver edge around it. It had a red western dragon as a motive in the white middle circle. Overall a nice equipment, which managed to withstand the power of the Lower Floors better than her previous shield could.

Still, despite all the advantages, it was obvious this was tough for her. However, it was not tough enough to contain her sass, as she rolled her eyes despite the danger.

"Oh come on, you're level two, just like me!" She countered and he glanced at her, gaping at the same time.

"We are in the 49th floor, woman!" He screamed at her and Lisa opened her mouth, but her other "neighbor" slammed his elbow into her side with a hiss.

"Quit talking, I need to concentrate here!"

"Sorry!" The merchant daughter yelled, but then paused with a frown. "Wait, how much time went by?"

"Enough! Recast!" Another voice shouted, though Bell wasn't sure whose it was. Lisa in turn nodded with a wide grin.

"Roger that!" She took a deep breath and began to chant. "Many strong shields together can become even stronger!"

Another wave of rampaging monsters crashed against them and Lisa had to pause in order to push back with her comrades. Biting her lip, she drew a bit of blood, but her focus didn't waver. She felt worse pain, if her stories about the "training" he was excluded from were true, so her spell didn't blow up on her face yet. Because of that, her feral grin widened instead, despite the bloody lip and strained expression.

"United we stand against the tide!" She rammed her shield into the ground and a yellow light radiated from it. "Proteco Phalanx!"

With those words, the energy exploded and engulfed her surroundings, including her comrades. Then, when the light died out, one could see the soft light surrounding Lisa and the other defender's that Bell missed at first.

A magic spell she learned between the battle against the Infant Dragon and now. It increased the defense of herself and allies nearby, reducing the damage they would receive. It was a heaven's sent for situations like these.

"Fuck yeah!" Lisa screamed into the air, but her excited grin fell when she managed to peak behind the monsters in front of her.

More were coming.

"Fuck no!" She yelled back and despite the buff of the magic, the strain was as big as ever, especially considering that the Loki family's assault teams were not even close at the moment. Naturally, Welf took the opportunity to smirk at Lisa.

"So, magic swords aren't your thing, huh?!" He asked her in a sarcastic manner and the girl grit her teeth.

"Not now, Welf!"  
"I mean, it's not like I offered you guys to use them!" He continued on, ignoring her objection and she let out a growl in response.

"Welf, I swear to the gods, shut up!"

"Not like you have a shiny one right inside your pocket."  
At the other remark from Welf, Bell couldn't help but look at the supporter's legs. While he did blush that she wore such short pants, he did spot the black short sword. Bell blinked at that.

Huh, there was one left from the little rampage they did when Lili and Lisa got Welf's magic swords as gifts.

"If you wanna burn down armies, then just use the bugger yourself!" The girl yelled at him and the blacksmith scoffed in turn.

"You know my stance about magic swords!" He gestured with his head at his shield. "Also, busy here!"

"You know my stance about your stance!" Lisa countered and pointed at her own shield. "And also busy here!"  
"Well, you know my stance about your stance about-"

Before Welf and Lisa could escalate their bickering even further, everyone in ear shot glared at them at the same time.

"SHUT UP!" They all screamed at them and Bell's teammates at least looked a bit sheepish. But then Lisa's turned to him and he blinked in confusion.

"Bell, take the sword!"

The rookie pointed at himself, incomprehension filling his face. Then he gaped in shock.

"Eh?!"

Not even bothering to pretend she heard him, she freed up her left arm and shoved the sword into the boy's hands. Then, with a grim expression she stared him right in the eyes.

"When I say 'hora', you hora the shit out of them, okay?!" She ordered more than asked and Bell stared down the magic sword in shock.  
"Eeeeeh?!"

This was too much responsibility at once! What if he messed up, like aiming wrong or getting the timing right?!

All of these worries didn't reach his senior, who stared back to the battlefield, a scoff escaping her.

"Sure hope Lili is having fun at least," she said wryly.

This was awesome! Terrifying, but awesome!

She unsheathed a short sword from the backpack she carried and held it in reverse grip. Electricity coursed through it and extended out, increasing Lili's reach.

Speed was the key, so she dashed through the gaps of the goat monsters and simply extended her arm to cut them, not wasting any time for swings. They were minor damage, compared to her amazon captain, who twirled her giant two bladed weapon around like a wheel, but Lili was still proud of it, considering how deep in the dungeon she was. If she was only a distraction, so be it. Better than doing nothing.

Sword still stable, good work from Welf. The left hand had Liberty in hand. Since she didn't have a second hand free, the dagger form was the best currently. Besides, the hammer was too slow for this high pace fighting and she didn't have enough room for a naginata.

For once, she thanked her supporter days and Artel Assist, because else there was no way she would have been as fast with the bag she carried. Though now it was completely empty, when she glanced at Welf's Infant Dragon sword. She knew, because it was the last weapon she packed into it.

Oh well, better make the most out of it.

Roll down on the ground to avoid an arm swipe, cut legs at the same time. It would slow them down and relieve the front lines just a tiny bit. Finish roll and jump up for some extra speed. With that, Lili took a look around. For regular people, they would only see chaos and Lili had to admit it was a bit chaotic.

But with her experience as a supporter, who had to carry monster corpses out of small battlefields, her observation skills were top notch. Any important visual cues were picked up by her and she acted accordingly. It wasn't like she had saw everything slowed down, but she could process information faster while others were busy panicking or something.

Because of that, she saw that a bit to her left, somebody from her squad was cornered, cut off from Tiona's team. The short and black haired cat girl only had the shaft of a broken spear. If the Pallum remembered correctly, she was level two a well, but unlike her, the cat girl could not increase her power over time. On top of that, the amazon was too far away to save her.

Lili on the other hand was close enough. She may not have been able to kill the Fomoire, but she could distract them for a couple of seconds.

With her speed, she slid underneath the legs of the monsters and spread her arms at the same time to cut the ankles. Then, she jumped up before letting out a small discharge of lightning around her, making sure it only went sideways in order not to hit her ally ducking beneath her. The monsters stumbled back a bit. Then she twirled her sword around to make a proper downslash. The sword dug deep into the flesh of the goat monster, but then...the sword broke.

Gods damn it.

Lili clicked her tongue in irritation and twirled her dagger in her hand, already transforming. Since she had both hands free, she could use the naginata then.

"Static Extend!"

Like a whip, the energy struck against the monsters, shoving them back even further. However, as she expected, it didn't kill them. They staggered back, but with fury, they roared and charged right back, fighting against the spinning lightning blade of her weapon.. She would need to keep this up way longer than Infinite Shift would give her increasing stats. Luckily, she didn't need to.

From the corner of her vision, Lili saw her approach and immediately duck down with the cat girl, whose name she didn't really remember. Then, the area around them exploded into blood and a grinning petite amazon stood before them with a weapon as big as she was.

"Nice one!" Tiona shouted, raising her thumb in approval.

"T-thanks!" Miss Cat stuttered, a bit shaken by being so close to death. Lili, a bit out of breath, smiled back and nodded.

"No problem!"

With that, the three immediately began to move again, because more goat monsters closed in. While Lili did minor to medium cuts to the enemy, Tiona was mowing them down like a farmer on the field. Though even the level five looked a bit winded, but that didn't stop her from being somewhat professional.

"Stick close! We group up with my sis and see if they have a spare for you," the amazon ordered at the cat girl, who nodded with determination. Then, she glanced at Lili after kicking a goat's head off. "Lili, how high is your increase?"

The Pallum took a deep breath and focused on her body, trusting Tiona to cover for her. Moments later, she looked back, with a raised eyebrow.

"Approaching level three, maybe?" She said in an unsure tone. From what she saw from other level three, she might be approaching their power. The fact that she managed to dodge monsters in the Lower Levels meant that she probably was around that level now. Prediction could only carry one that much, even when the Fomoire were on the lower spectrum in terms of speed.

Tiona snorted in amusement and took a glance at Lili's back, before smirking, while casually cutting down another goat monster.

"Can't believe you managed to go through your entire stash of weapons."

"You tell me," Lili replied amused as well, but their fun came to an end when they met up with another squad, led by Tiona's sister. She didn't look that happy when she saw them.

"Girls, focus!" She yelled, her arms almost a blur to Lili's eyes as they ripped apart monsters with the knifes. The Pallum chuckled awkwardly with Tiona, being caught at chatting during battle. Anyway, Tione gestured with her head towards their camp. "Flank them! Captain's orders!"

Right, the whole purpose of the assault teams was to relieve the defense lines and buy more time for Riveria and the other mages to do their thing to wipe out the entire enemy army. With that in mind, Lili went to work with the others.

With her naginata, she switched from "injuring" to "killing" in her mind, since she could afford it now with two top class adventurers nearby. Because of that, she put more force into her attacks, stepped in a bit more and poured more energy into her magic. She even managed to cut off some limbs here and there, though she wasn't sure if it was her weapon or her magic.

Obsidian did say that if Static was concentrated enough, it could become a searing blade that could cut anything. Not that Lili could confirm if he was bragging or not, but apparently it was true.

Anyway, her Infinite Shift pushed to the current max, since the Pallum only switched between naginata and dagger form, she weaved between the monsters, her limbs moving in a high pace.

Then, she saw it. It was barely visible, but she saw the hints.

Shields faltered slightly. Monsters advanced a bit more than anywhere else at a certain spot. A second wave is rearing to push through.

The wall was going to get breached. As if that wasn't bad enough, the dungeon decided to remind Lili that it hated her.

At that wall, her teammates were located. The decision was easy for her, as she took a deep breath and frowned with determination.

"The line is breaking over there!" She yelled and without waiting at all, she sprinted towards the spot.

"Lili, wait! Ugh, she's almost as bad as Aiz!" Lili heard Tiona yell, but she ignored it and instead jumped high and dive kicked a goat that was about to smack one of the weaker shield wielders away. Then, she twirled her weapon in hammer form and focused on pushing the monsters away. Done with that, she turned her head slightly at her teammates, who grinned at her in turn.

"Hey guys!" She greeted them and Lisa rolled her eyes, before making a shooing motion with her hand.

"Shut up and do your thing!"

"Roger!" She exclaimed with a feral grin and twirled her naginata in high speed. The monsters recovered from her sudden attack and charged at her. But this scary view only served to excite the Pallum even more.

They were going to become prey to her new skill. Checking that no allies were in the line of fire, she made her move.

"Static Wave!" She screamed and made a wide swing with her weapon.

The "Wave" variant was something she developed in response to the Monster Party encounter she had before her level up. It was meant to take out entire armies at once, a wave of lightning crashing through the enemy.

Obsidian quickly destroyed her fantasies by smacking her over the head and telling her what would instead happen.

A spread out wave, that was tingly at her current level, but would do almost no damage. He never did such a thing either, because there were more efficient ways to use lightning and, according to him, "quantity wasn't a big deal for me since a long time".

However, that was if she didn't use Pressure Release and even her teacher had to admit it was powerful.

Well, he used the word "hax" but she got the gist of it.

Instead of just a numbing effect, what Lili did was a paralyzing explosion. Force and heat teared and threw a good chunk of the goat monsters in front of her away, back into other monsters or up towards the ceiling. Those who managed to stay on the ground only shook in one place, rage in their faces, yet unable to take a single step forward as paralysis took hold of them.

The power of Infinite Shift, stuffed into one attack. It made Lili giddy.

However.

"Blargh..."

Lili would have fallen flat on her face if Welf didn't catch her and dragged her back behind the shields.

Yeah, losing all that strength and stamina in one go was not good for one's body. The more she stacked up and the more she released, the more likely it was that she would become dizzy or flat out passed out. Right now, the former was the case, but Lili felt like she went ten rounds against her teacher.

Nevertheless, she relieved this part of the wall immensely, even when monsters from the back and from the sides moved to fill the gap that was created by her. However, her teammates were not going to let this opportunity slide this easily.

"Nice job!" Lisa announced with a grin, leaning forward with keen eyes, before turning to Bell (since when was he there?) with a savage grin. "HORA!"

Hearing the familiar shout, Bell only hesitated for a moment, before he ran forward and swung the short blade against the open hole with a shout on his own.

The next moment, a sea of fire filled the area in front of them. Lili saw it a few times before, but it was always breathtaking to see that the legends of Crozzo magic swords taking down countries weren't just a myth.

The hole she created widened moderately as it seared the monsters away. Those who survived were easy prey for the weaker adventurers, and simple target practice for the likes of Tiona. Lili chuckled at the sight.

Crozzo magic swords were even more bullshit than her, Lili thought dryly as she lied flat on her stomach. Assessing the situation, she grinned.

The tide had changed to their favor. Hell, this battle could be considered won already, because from what Lili could see, the dungeon seemed to have reached its limit at the current monster spawning rate.

However, the Loki-Hestia Alliance(Lisa's idea) was not done yet.

"Magic is ready! All units, retreat!" Finn's voice rang over the battlefield. The units reacted immediately, all of them escaping and disengaging from the monsters they were busy with. Once the field was clear, Lili clearly heard the end of the chanting.

"My name is Alf..." Riveria's voice gracefully filled the air and were filled with power. "Rea Laevateinn!"

If Lili's attack could be called powerful against groups and Welf's magic sword strong enough to burn an army, Riveria's magic could be considered apocalyptic.

After magic seals appeared on the ground, gigantic pillars of fire and magical energy burst out of them, engulfing the monsters in a heartbeat. They barely had time to scream, when the pillars transformed into a destructive blast wave that burned everything in front of Lili. She could feel the heat even from the safe distance and the sight made her gape in awe.

Nothing was left. Not a speck of blood or skin was left of the monsters.

Lisa was the first to break the silence as she threw her arms up, sweat ridden, but excited.

"HORA! We did it!"

That caused a chain reaction in the army of adventurers and soon the air was filled with roars of cheering. Lili would have joined in, if the volume didn't cause an immens headache for her. Because of that, she groaned and slowly tried to stand up.

Then she saw a tanned hand offered to help her. Accepting it, she got pulled up by Tiona, who smirked at her mischievously.

"Didn't captain forbid you from using this without his permission?" She asked, covering her mouth in a teasing manner and Lili paled slightly.

"Ugh..." She leaned in and covered her mouth in order to whisper. "Don't tell him."

"Don't tell me what?"

The polite voice made the Pallum freeze and pale completely. Slowly, she turned her head.

Lo and behold, Finn and Riveria stood right behind her, arms crossed in disapproval despite the smiles they wore.

"Err..." Lili glanced around and her eyes landed on her squad leader. Then she sheepishly scratched the back of her head with a giggle. "Tiona didn't stop me?"

"Don't you pull me into this!" The amazon in question shouted in indignation, throwing her arms up in a rather cute manner. Unfortunately for Lili, Riveria and the other executives were not impressed by her excuse, judging from the flat faces.

"Don't mimic Obsidian to escape responsibility," the noble elf stated, hitting the final nail in the coffin. Lili sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I had to try."

* * *

 **Brave New World 8.2**

The 50th floor was known as a safe zone, just like Under Resort was the 18th floor was. However, unlike the one in the Upper Floors, this floor didn't have a convenient city with inn and restaurants in it. It was natural, considering only the strongest of expedition parties could even reach this place in the first place.

Because of that, self sufficiency was the game, via tents, camping fires and self brought supplies. Speaking of tents...

On top of a small hill in the safe zone was the tent where the leaders resided in. It was moderate in size, but it was big enough to keep all squad leaders in to listen to strategies or planning.

Anyway, here she was, sitting on her knees, next to Aiz to Lili's surprise. The former pouted, making clear she didn't believe she should be here as well.

The trio in front of them, the executives, didn't seem to agree. Finn, flanked by his standing comrades, sat in front of them, legs crossed and hands folded, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"So, you both know why you are here. You two did the same thing after all. Leaving your position," he explained in a pleasant tone, but Lili ignored the underlying threat and whipped her head at Aiz with surprise. Aiz in turn did the same thing at the same time, so they both looked at each other with wide eyes.

She also did it? Huh, the more you know, Lili thought as she blinked, mirroring the Sword Princess. She wondered what Aiz had to do to leave her position.

Before she could ponder more on it, Gareth let out a boisterous laugh while Finn chuckled a bit. As confusion began to set in the girls, Riveria sighed and covered her face with her hand.

"Honestly, you two. If I didn't know any better, I would think you two were separated from birth."

Lili coughed awkwardly and she could see that Aiz blushed a bit. The former raised an eyebrow at the elf.

"We're not that similar, right?" She asked, scratching her left cheek a bit and Riveria gave them a flat look.

"Both of you have an obsession with becoming stronger and tend to throw yourselves into danger."

"I have a good reason!" The two girls shouted at the same time, then looked at each other in shock, before blushing simultaneously.

Well, they weren't helping their cases at all. Judging from the wheezing from the dwarf in the room, it was apparently hilarious.

"Heh, we sure they aren't sisters?" Gareth asked in a teasing tone and Riveria gave him a small glare, shutting him up. Then, she turned back to the girls with crossed arms and one eye open.

"Yes, I know your reasons. It does not mean I have to like it."

Before any of the two could object to that, Finn leaned forward, hands folded with a slight frown.

"Aiz, Lili...are you dissatisfied with your positions?"

The Sword Princess hestitated, but then nodded as she bit her lip. Lili on the other hand immediately shook her hand and frantically waved her hands in front of her.

"No! It's just..." She paused and took a deep breath, before explaining her thought progress for intervening. The threat of a gap in the wall, the fact that her Infinite Shift was reaching its limit and that nobody else was nearby or could be sent, since they had their own positions. Aiz was one example. If she were there, she wouldn't have stopped the breach on her side. Because of that, Lili felt that she made the right choice.

By the time she was done, Finn looked at her with an appraising look, while Gareth and Riveria shared an unreadable glance.

Then, scratching his chin, her captain nodded in approval.

"Hm. Good eye." The frown returned. "Still, a lot of things could have gone wrong if you made a mistake. I made the order about your skill for a reason. We have plans in case a breach happens."

Finn took a deep breath and looked at the girls with a sigh.

"You two are very talented, but you have to remember that you are not alone in this. Don't try to shoulder everything on your own."

Aiz and Lili lowered their head in shame and the Pallum had to admit that she didn't really had to use Pressure Release. Simply distracting the monsters and letting the magic sword do its thing might have worked better.

However, the other executives took pity on them, with Gareth stepping forward and putting a hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Ah, come on! Don't be so harsh! If someone is to blame, it's my squad for not being nearby."

"Or blame me, for not finishing the spell sooner," Riveria added calmly with closed eyes and Finn let out an amused snort before shaking his head.

"Well, if you got the message, I shouldn't keep you in here any longer," he announced and stood up, opening the tent for them. Lili and Aiz rose as well and made their way out of the tent. But just as the former stepped after the latter, Riveria cleared her throat, making both of them turn around.

"Lili, make sure to rest. Your skill is a double edged sword," Riveria calmly said and Lili nodded with a grin.

"I was going to, but thanks for the concern."

Riveria in turn sighed and touched her right cheek with her hand.

"Noir wouldn't stop to annoy me if I didn't look out for you." Then she noticed the grins from Gareth and Finn and she raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing," the Braver whistled, crossing his arms behind his back and Gareth looked away, amused as well.

"Nothing at all."

Lili took this as her cue to leave and poked Aiz' arm. Having her attention, she motioned with her head to move out.

The moment they stepped outside, they came face to face with Lili's team. Aiz took this as her cue to leave, but not before turning to Lili and smiling slightly.

"I will see you around, Lili."

"Yeah, see ya too," Lili said with a handwave, before turning to her teammates with a smirk. "What's up, meat shields."

"What's up, fainting maiden," Welf countered with a grin as well and Lili scoffed in amusement. Then, she raised her hand and high fived him and Lisa, before moving on to Bell. But he didn't react at all at the hand, not even when she frowned and waved it in front of his face. For some reason, his face was dazed and red. Following his eyes, he saw that they were focused on the Sword Princess who walked away from them.

Lili turned her head to the others and pointed a thumb at the rookie.

"Is he still embarrassed that Aiz had to save him?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Lisa chuckled slightly.

"Pretty sure he has a crush," she said in a proud tone, like an older sister. Welf let out a snort and crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Can you blame him?"

Both girls shrugged.

Being saved by a super strong and apparently stoic badass warrior...Lili could think of worse people to have crushes on. Now the question was whether she should break the illusion for him and tell him how damn awkward and dense she could be. She only slept over a couple of days at the Loki mansion, but that was enough to confirm her suspicions entirely.

That, and Lefiya was definitely crushing on Aiz as well. Shy elf love rival.

Sounds cheesier than Obsidian's romance novels, the Pallum thought dryly. At least the elf was one of the few good friends she had in the family, if Lefiya wasn't busy worshipping the ground Aiz was walking on.

Anywho, the shield bearer waved her hand casually.

"Well, Aiz is hot." She paused when she received weird looks from Welf and Lili and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What, I know you guys think the same."  
"I would go with adorable," the Pallum replied slowly, a bit surprised by Lisa's...openness. Welf didn't seem to mind though, as he casually shrugged with a neutral expression.

"Not my type, but yeah."

Then, the three took a look back at Bell and Lili had to gape.

By the heavens, he was still in his little world, his eyes tracking Aiz like a dog sniffing blood.

"Why did you make Bell the captain again?" Welf asked as he fully turned to his right and stared at Lisa in disbelief.

"Because," she replied with a casual shrug. But before the blacksmith's expression could fully turn into a gape, she laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Just kidding!" Taking a deep breath to calm down, her smile turned more gentle. "Seriously though, he's got potential and the ambition I don't have." Then she paused and tilted her head with a frown."Weren't you there when I said that?"

"As a matter of fact, no," Welf replied dryly and Lisa blinked for a moment, before nodding slowly.

"Right..." She shrugged nonchalantly and grinned. "Well, he is also cute and thus better for advertisement."

"I'm not cute!" Bell suddenly shouted, whipping his head around with a pout and a red face. At the same time, the trio gave each other flat looks and thought the same thing.

 _That_ was the thing to shake him out of his daze?

Turning back to Bell in sync, they all spoke in a flat tone at the same time.

"Yes, you are."

The rookie spluttered at them, but before he could say anything, Lisa threw her arm around Bell with a wide grin.

"Cute sells products, so don't be so mad." She patted him on the head and then grinned at Lili and Welf. "We even made him an emblem to mark some of our goods!"

Bell lowered his head in shame and covered his face with both hands when Lisa whipped a picture out of her big bag she carried around and Welf and Lili leaned forward to take a closer look.

The two of them smiled wryly.

Yup, a rabbit surrounded by flames and a bell as a sort of hat, with the words "cute is justice" written beneath it.

Lili wasn't sure if she should pity him or not. Hestia and Lisa seemed to be the type to push this on him. Before Lili could properly decide, the supporter made a snap with her fingers and made an "oh" sound.

"Speaking of which, I gotta grab some money from those Loki people. Bell, yip yip."

Not even bothering to wait for an answer, she dragged her junior towards the camp, eyes sparkling at the prospect of profit.

This left Lili alone with Welf, who turned to each other and shrugged at the same time, before moving towards Welf's tent, where his "forge" was.

Well, it was less of a forge and more a small transportable furnace and a small anvil to hammer on. The two of them came to a stop when they saw the surroundings of it.

There were several weapons, either broken or damaged. The amount wasn't too big, but it was still a messy sight. Lili stared at it with wide eyes, while Welf simply sighed and sat down, before starting repairs.

Silently, he hammered on the weapons, grinded them against sharpening stones or reheated them in order to temper them correctly. Meanwhile, Lili sat down in front of him, staring at his work with a bored expression.

After a while, she became too bored and tilted her head after clearing her throat. Welf looked up, stopping in mid swing of his hammer.

"I'm surprised that Lady Hestia and Lady Hephaestus let you guys join the expedition," Lili said, her chin lying on her hands as she sat in a cross leg position. Welf in turn chuckled slightly, before hammering the metal in a rhythmic manner again.

"I heard that Lisa had to pull all strings with her goddess, including blackmail. Something about 'revealing love secrets' and 'playing wingman for the other team' if she didn't let them," he explained and Lili cracked a grin as well.

Hestia was rather protective of her children. Being alone for such a long time according to Lisa, it was understandable she was like that. Though Lili was worried how...obsessed she was with Bell. Or, how she was in love with him, for some reason the Pallum could never comprehend. He was cute, yes, but like a pet or a little brother. Lili would never date a pet or a little brother.

Anyway, she crossed her arms at Welf.

"And you?" She asked and Welf shrugged nonchalantly.

"Eh, my goddess was pretty chill about it and told me to be careful."

Lili blinked.

That sounded rather irresponsible. Then again, Lili thought as she tilted her head, Hephaestus was more in touch with other families than Hestia and would have more faith in Loki than Hestia.

Speaking of which, maybe that was the actual reason Hestia objected so much.

For some reason, Loki and Hestia despised each other. Naturally, Lili stayed the fuck away from that "stupid teenage drama", as Obsidian would call it.

Anyway, something tickled her in the back of her mind, as if she forgot something and the forgotten thing tried to get her attention.

Then, she paled as she remembered the battle. Or rather, what she did during the battle.

Right, she wrecked every single weapon he provided. Awkwardly, she scratched the back of her head.

"Hey, Welf. I kinda-"

Before she could even finish, the blacksmith sighed and a dark cloud appeared over his head as he looked down on the ground, making Lili wince in guilt.

"Broke another sword. Yes, I saw. As well as the rest of the weapons I gave you." He let out a dry snort and shook his head. "Hah...Here I believed after leveling up and joining a Loki expedition I wouldn't spent most of my free time making you weapons."

"Hey, you offered and I accepted," Lili countered back with a pout and Welf waved his hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes, I know." He paused and gave her a serious look. "You still don't want any magic swords?"

"Again, not my style," Lili replied, well aware of his dislike for magic swords and respecting it. "Would have harmed the team more than the monsters. Better used by you guys in the back."

"Fair enough," Welf admitted and the Pallum smiled at him.

He really came a long way to accepting magic swords. At least somewhat. He may have joked about Lili's, Lisa's and Bell's "wasteful" way they used the weapons with, but even he had to admit that without them, there could have been some serious injuries here and there.

Also, Obsidian was a good talker, telling him that magic swords were tools for victory, just like ones body. It made Welf reconsider his stance about the weapons and realize that sometimes magic swords were needed.

Didn't change the fact he didn't like them and wanted to be a good blacksmith without them, but it was a start.

All of a sudden however, he put his hammer down and crossed his arms with narrowed eyes.

"This isn't going to work."

"What?" Lili asked, tilting her head in confusion and Welf gestured with his hand towards the camp, twirling it a bit.

"The expedition won't reach its goal like that," he stated grimly and Lili frowned.

"Why? We still have supplies and nobody got too injured," she stated, eyes wandering over the camp to confirm her observation. However, Welf shook his head.

"What about equipment?" He asked in a pointed tone and sighed. "I'm no logistics expert, but even I know that only a handful of blacksmiths, myself included, are not enough to maintain all of this. And I can tell you, most weapons currently used are almost at their breaking point. Just a bad moment and the spares will be gone as well."

Lili blinked and put her hand on her chin in thought.

That sounded reasonable and she didn't really think about it. It was also surprisingly insightful from Welf. Still, Lili wasn't so sure about this.

"You sure?" She asked because of that and Welf nodded.

"I used Welf Vision when I was walking around, so yeah."

Lili suppressed a snicker, gaining a glare from Welf. But how could she not be amused?

Welf Vision. A skill he earned after fighting the Infant Dragon, right next to the ability "Blacksmith". It gave him the ability to analyze objects and enemies due to his need to observe the dragon and figure out how to kill him. The skill made him see weak spots and helped him analyze the composition of certain items.

Still, despite the usefulness of the skill…

"It's a stupid name," Lili said in a choked tone, trying to suppress her laughter and failing at it.

"What's so stupid about it?!" Welf exclaimed in anger and stood up. Then, he threw his arms in the air. "And it's not like I had any choice in the name!"

Not that the name would have been any better, as Lili dryly remember his naming sense. But she didn't say that. Instead, she smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"Did your goddess laugh at you?"

"She laughed _with_ me!" He objected with a red face, telling Lili that she was right.

Before she could tease him anymore however, Lisa and Bell returned to them, with the former looking very pleased with herself as she hummed.

"And? Made some cash?" Lili asked and Lisa gave her a thumbs up, while Bell smiled with a nod.

"Books and sweets are really popular here!" She rubbed her hands together, cackling loudly. "Can't wait until the next shipping arrive and I can sell more stuff!"

The other three awkwardly laughed at that, but then Bell whipped his head around with narrowed eyes. Lili tilted his head at that.

"Something wrong?"

"Guys, do you feel that?" He asked in a suspicious tone and Lili looked at Lisa and Welf, who shrugged in confusion.

"Feel what?" Lisa asked and Bell bit his lip.

"Like...something is watc-"

Before he could even finish, Lili felt it. The vibrations on the ground. Vibrations that became stronger and stronger by the minute.

Lili shot up on her feat, ignoring the minor dizziness she still had and nodded at the others with determination.

She wasn't the only one. Heads whipped around by anyone who wasn't a complete newbie, people stood up and dropped anything that wasn't meant for combat as they rushed out, towards the source of the commotion.

Being further in the back, Lili couldn't quite see what was going on at the front. Luckily for her, Lisa motioned towards herself and Lili nodded, before jumping up on her shoulder.

Then, she saw it. They all saw what was coming.

A horde of caterpillar like monster bigger than Lili themselves rushed towards their position. They had strange marking around them and had no eyes as far as she could tell. A hole was in front of what she supposed was the head and weird liquid came out of it. It also had some weird wing like arms in front, though it moved forward with weird stubbles underneath.

Oh, and there were hundreds of them.

So in conclusion, an army of unknown monsters, in a safe zone.

So the Pallum's reaction at that was natural.

"Oh, kiss my ass and call me Angela Merkel!" She screamed, but then paused at what she said. Then clicked her tongue in irritation, ignoring the weird looks she received. "Damn it, teacher!"

"EVERYONE, IN COMBAT FORMATIONS! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" The commanding voice of Riveria rang over the field and Lili twirled Liberty, transforming it into the naginata form.

With that, the mayhem began.

* * *

 **Brave New World 8.3**

"Ah, sweet air…" Lisa breathed out and stretched her back with a groan. Lili chuckled weakly and shook her head, trying to get the tiredness out of her system. Bell and Welf were equally exhausted, the former almost falling asleep on his legs. The sight was rather cute.

Still, Lili sighed, the expedition could be considered a failure.

It took them a couple of days to leave the dungeon and everyone was tired. At least they didn't have to carry much equipment, because most of it was either melted, or had to be abandoned when they got attacked by those caterpillars. She didn't even help with the fight. As she was still exhausted from her Pressure Release, she was stuck with rescue and medic jobs.

And then a gigantic version of the caterpillar appeared, with wider wing arms. It was also stationary for some reason, but in turn, it could spit out dust that exploded.

Nevertheless, as strong as it was, it got killed by Aiz rather easily. It was a bad matchup to her Tempest, so the outcome was natural.

Anyway, they had to leave before reaching the 59th floor, the goal that was set for the expedition. Not that they had any choice, but the general mood could be considered peeved.

Lili herself was also peeved, but mostly at her lack of contribution in the battle. She couldn't do anything than swing her weapon a few times. She was forbidden from using any magic, and with that Pressure Release to turn the tide and had to wait until the other top class adventurers returned to buy sufficient time for the mages.

The Pallum didn't want to use her lightning back then anyway. A distant memory of Obsidian's lesson came to her head when she was about to do it. It was something about brains and how they send electrical signals to the rest of the body in order to make the body do stuff.

Since the caterpillars, called Virga by Finn, exploded upon death, Lili assumed that it was an automatic response from the brain the moment it knew the body was no longer functional.

If she had used her lightning, she could have caused a chain reaction and blew all of them up, splattering the lethal acid everywhere.

At least that was her fear.

Not to mention she felt utterly useless when Aiz had to solo the "raid monster", as Obsidian would have called it. But Lili was familiar with feeling useless, and as always, managed to acknowledge it, then cast it aside rather easily.

She couldn't say the same about Bell or Welf. While Lisa was pretty chill about this and did her job as a defender well, the guys looked a little depressed. And she could guess why.

Bell did even less than Lili, just running around and giving others potions, while Welf probably thought about the lack of magic swords and how it would have reduced the amount of injuries among the Loki family.

However, the biggest reason for their fatigue was simple. They had to run the rest of the way for one reason alone.

"Can't believe those meatheads made us scramble all over the place to kill those Minotaur," Lisa groaned as they walked alongside the last group of the Loki Family, since the entire family couldn't fit through the Upper Levels in one go. Lili in turn shrugged without much care.

"Eh, I can't blame them. Frustration is one hell of a motivator."

Reaching the outside, Lisa, Bell and Welf split off the group, since they had different plans. While the Loki family wanted to celebrate first and do business the next day, Lisa convinced the others to do it now so that they would have free time the next day. Because of that, the supporter waved at Lili with a wide grin, Bell and Welf mimicking her.

"See you later, Lili! Gotta get that cash! Come on, Bell."

"See you at the party."

As they left, the girl turned around to follow the group. Before she could take her first step forward however, Lili came to a stop, her eyes widening in shock.

A familiar maid appeared in her sight and Lili forgot all fatigue she felt, instead brightening up immensely before jogging over to the individual. The elf smiled back and was about to nod, but gasped in shock when Lili hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Ryuu!" She separated from her and grinned. When she didn't hear anything, Lili looked up in confusion, staring at the wide eyed Ryuu.

Then she realized what she was actually doing and how elves react to physical contact. As if burned, she yelped and backed off, a blush on her face.

"Oh crap, I'm so-"

Then, Ryuu chuckled warmly and raised her hand in a placating manner.

"It's alright. I was just...surprised. I don't mind." She smiled at Lili and bowed slightly. "It's good to see you."

"Wait, you don't mind?" Lili asked a bit shyly and Ryuu tilted her head in confusion.

"No," she stated as if it was obvious. "You are like Syr. A close friend."

The Pallum blushed furiously at that statement. She did not expect to have such a reveal thrown on her lap. Lili's limited experience with friendship was kicking her in the butt right now.

Gods, she was blushing, wasn't she? What was wrong with her? Ryuu only admitted being a close friend. That was it.

Quick, topic change!

Lili gulped and tried to be causal as she awkwardly giggled and scratched the back of her head.

"What are you doing here?"

Nailed it.

Ryuu didn't appear to notice her internal freakout and instead folded her hands in front of her.

"Noir sent me to inform you that he was going to be busy and that you can skip going to his home." At Lili's fallen expression, she raised her right hand and smiled a bit. "Do not worry, he will be there at the Hostess tonight."

The Pallum in turn let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good."

"Are you well?" The elf then asked all of a sudden, eyes filled with concern. Lili in turn waved her off.

"Just a bit ruffled, but other than that, fine."

"I will hold you onto it," Ryuu stated, but then smiled at her, this time more in a teasing way. "I will interrogate you later, you are aware?"

"You won't get anything out of me that would compromise me," Lili countered and Ryuu chuckled before turning around, but not before glancing at her and waving with her hand.

"Very well. I will see you later."

Waving back, Lili smiled. Then, she turned to her family, but stopped when she almost ran into Riveria and yelped as she jumped back. Before she could apologize however, Lili saw that Riveria's eyes were a bit...unfocused. It worried a bit, so she snapped with her fingers, shaking the noble out of her trance, as she blinked in surprise.

"Riveria? Something wrong?" Lili asked and the elf slowly shook her head.

"No, nothing at all."

Lili in turn narrowed her eyes.

"Is this about Ryuu?" She asked, crossing her arms with disapproval. Immediately, the executive raised her arms in a placating manne.

"I'm jus...surprised Noir trusted that...maid enough to send a message," she replied in an even tone and something clicked in Lili.

It took everything in her not to recoil in disgust.

Yeah, she was not going to touch this, not even with Liberty.

Lili frowned. Damn it, now she felt responsible for her teacher. Why couldn't he clean this up himself? But fine, she would fix this for him. With a shrug, Lili attempted to be casual when she replied.

"Eh, he knows that we are friends, so why not?" She dismissively waved with her hand. "Not like they are that close anyway."

"Really?" Riveria asked, perking up a bit too much, before she caught herself and coughed awkwardly. "Hm. Very well. Let us go then. The others are leaving us behind."

The Pallum sighed in relief when they began to trail after the rest of the family.

Save successful. Now Lili hoped that this was the end of-

"Can I ask you something?"

Oh gods no.  
"Shoot," Lili said, hoping this wasn't going to go where she thought this was going.

"Lefiya..." Oh thank the heavens, Lili thought, before focusing on listening. "...seemed a bit down when I saw her in the dungeon. I know that talking with Aiz and the others helped with her concerns, but I thought, since you two are roommates, you could make sure she is okay."

The Pallum blinked and crossed her arms, forehead wrinkling in thought. Knowing Lefiya and her lack of accomplishments during the expedition, she wouldn't fault her for being a little depressed. Not that Lili was certain, considering she didn't really interact with her much in the dungeon.

Better fix that.

Lili nodded and crossed her arms behind her head.

"Got it. Just gonna talk to her, make her relax before the dinner."

"Thank you," Riveria said with a smile, before letting out a sigh. "Sometimes the girl worries me too much."

"We all worry you too much," the level two replied with a dry chuckle and Riveria scoffed in response, closing her eyes.

"At least you realize it," she said in small amusement and Lili shrugged.

"Self awareness is an important skill."

Dropping in her bed inside the big mansion, Lili let out a sigh and heard Lefiya do the same as well. Their room wasn't that big compared to other rooms that fit four to five people. Nevertheless, it was big enough for the two of them to move around between the two beds, that could fit two people in it. It wasn't very decorated, though it was pleasant enough with the light colors and all that.

Anyway, the arrival reminded Lili how exhausted she actually was. The moment they entered the premise of the mansion, her new goddess literally jumped out of nowhere.

Lili managed to grab Lefiya out of Loki's way and escape into their room. Lili resided in the mansion long enough to know that the goddess was one devious, gay pervert, so she had the obligation to save her.

She didn't feel guilty at all when the goddess' face crashed against the pavement and she passed out.

Anywho, here she was, face buried in her pillow, exhausted as hell.

"Ugh, talk about tough days, right?" She said, forcing herself to turn around and glance to her right, where Lefiya was lying. The elf turned to her a bit and smiled weakly.

"Yes... that was stressful..." She then frowned a bit. "Why aren't we taking a bath yet?"

Lefiya did want to take a bath the moment they stepped into the mansion, but Lili insisted on waiting a bit. Her reason for that was simple.

"Lady Loki always peeps in there around this time I heard. And I don't know how long she is going to be knocked out," she explained and then shrugged. "I just go in last and do quick shower."

"Quick shower?" Lefiya asked, sitting up to face Lili directly. The latter crossed her arms under her head.

"Yeah. Clean myself up in a minute or two. Fastest method to clean up. Maybe not the best, but I'm not a clean freak. You?"

The elf in question cleared her throat awkwardly and averted her eyes.

"W-well...we elves do value our...appearance."

The Pallum in turn looked up to the ceiling with a casual expression.

"Eh, I lived on the streets, so I only do the necessary," Lili said with a shrug, but then paused, worry settling into her face as she turned to Lefiya with a raised eyebrow. "That's not disgusting, right?"

"N-not at all!" The elf quickly said and frantically waved her hands in front of her, before lowering her head. "I know that some people are different."

Lili let out an uncaring grunt and forced herself to jump off the bed with a "hoop". Then, she walked over to her drawer on the left side of her bed and opened it, before rummaging in it a bit.

"Where is it..." She grumbled, before finding it and taking it out. "Aha!"

She turned around and presented the item to Lefiya, who made a small "oh" sound at the sight of it, covering her mouth with her left hand.

"That's a cute dress," she commented and Lili giggled, holding it against herself.

"Yeah. Teacher bought it for me. On our first anniversary," she said in a warm tone, remembering the first time they went out eating.

Of course, Lefiya had to ruin the moment by blushing furiously.

"A-a-anniversary!?" She spluttered in panic and held her cheeks with her hands. Lili in turn made a gag sound and shuddered, before giving Lefiya such a dry look, that the elf recoiled.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you know what I mean," the Pallum said in a disappointed and disgusted tone and Lefiya lowered her head in shame.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, but then she looked up again with a nervous smile. "You look...happy."

Lili smiled at the elf and then looked down on the dress with a melancholy expression.

"It was the first time I wore a dress for a special occasion," she said in a soft tone and Lefiya nodded.

"He...sounds nice."

This caused the Pallum to blink and she looked up to look at Lefiya. Her words sounded a bit forced. Now that she saw her, her smile was a bit conflicted. Her eyes narrowed when her brain reached a certain conclusion.

"You don't like him," Lili stated, disapproval in her voice and the elf coughed awkwardly, looking away.

"T-to be fair...he wasn't very polite to me. And...I don't think he fits with Lady-"

Immediately, Lili raised her hand with a blank expression.  
"Yeah, no, I am not going to talk about that," she said, her voice leaving no room for objections. The mage blinked at the interruption, but then leaned forward with a frown.

"But...you do real-"

"Nope, in denial," Lili interrupted again and snapped her fingers. "Topic change."

Dumbfounded, the elf fiddled with her fingers.

"Uhm..." Then she took a deep breath and started to shout for some reason. "You did good!"  
Blinking, Lili stared at the blushing elf before raising an eyebrow.

"You are not going to give me a treat, right?" She asked in a skeptical tone and Lefiya became redder in the face.

"I-I meant in the dungeon! With the Fomoire!" Her eyes looked all over the place, before she calmed down something, lowering her head. "You...were just like Aiz."

"Not sure how to feel about the comparison, but thanks anyway," Lili replied with a small smile. Then she realized something and it made her eyes go wide.

While complimenting someone, Lefiya didn't put herself down. Which meant her mental state was better than Riveria thought it would be.

Huh, maybe she missed it.

"Something good happened?" Lili asked with a smirk and Lefiya touched her index fingers repeatedly, shyly looking to the ground.

"W-well...While...I didn't do much against the Fomoire...I-I…" She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. "Did my job. D-during the quest. I mean...I f-failed at first, but-but then..."

"You wiped the monsters out?" Lili finished for her, before clapping her hands with pride. "That's great!"

"Thank you," Lefiya said with a small bow and giggled. "You're right, focusing on the stuff I did right feels...good."

The Pallum planned to give her some compliments for her new somewhat self confidence as she smiled at the elf.

Instead, she yawned.

It was a bit embarrassing, but Lili managed to not blush too much as she let herself fall back on her bed, lying on her side.

"Wake me up when the baths are free..." She muttered and heard Lefiya gasp.

"Don't fall asleep or you won't be able to sleep tonight!" She objected and the Pallum let out a dismissive grunt.

"Eh, I let future me handle this," Lili handwaved and shut her eyes with a smile, the dress remaining in her hands.

* * *

 **Brave New World 8.4**

"You know, we eat here a lot lately."

Lili's comment caused her table to look at her. Her teammates glanced at each other and shrugged at the same time. Welf pointed his fork at her, while his mouth was full with food. Nodding a couple of times, he swallowed and raised his eyebrow at her.

"Good food is good food," he countered and Lili raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Yeah, but this is starting to become a thing." She waved with her hand around the Hostess, as usual filled with laughter and joy, as expected of a party. "Like a running gag or something. I mean..." She tapped on the table. "We have a regulars' table. This screams 'protagonist enjoy down time' thing."

While Bell and Welf stopped in mid eating and pondered about her words, before widening their eyes in recognition, Lisa stared at her with a gape.

"By the gods, you speak like Lord Noir when he makes references."

Lili froze just as she raised her cup and put it down with a horrified expression.

"Oh gods, I'm becoming like him," she whispered and Lisa raised her eyebrow at her, munching on some bread.

"You only realize that now?" She asked and Lili shuddered, shaking her head.

"Topic change. Now." She looked around and tilted her head. "Where is Lady Hestia?"

Lisa and Bell shrugged at the same time, the latter looking a bit more sad.

"She said something about doing some business with somebody else," the shielder replied and glanced at Welf. "You?"

"Busy in the forge. Dunno what's it about," he said, twirling his fork at her.

Lili blinked. Huh, gods were more busy than she expected. Though it was weird that the two of them were going to be busy at the same time.

Well, it wasn't her business, so she bit down on her chicken leg and enjoyed the taste. Then her eye corners saw something and she turned her head around to look over her back. Then she smiled widely when a certain maid approached their table, hands folded in front of her.

"Enjoying yourself?" Ryuu asked politely and the table raised their thumbs at the same time.

"Here, take a seat," Lili said, offering the chair to her right. The elf nodded and sat down. Lisa, who sat next to Ryuu now, tilted her head at her.

"Are you sure you are allowed to take a break?" She asked and the maid nodded with a smile.

"Mama Mia decided to let me spend more time with you, since she hired some extra help." She let out a small chuckle. "Syr was quite angry with me."

"Why? Because she wasn't allowed?" Lili asked with a grin.

"Mama Mia said, and I quote, 'Ryuu won't flirt non stop like you would'," Ryuu replied in a monotone voice, but her smile betrayed the amusement she felt about it. Bell meanwhile hummed in thought and scratched his chin.

"Hm. Wonder who she would have flirted with."

The table fell silent and everyone sans Bell shared a dry glance.

Nope, not going to help with that one, they all mentally agreed. Besides, Lili filled her "wingman" quota already for the day. Bell hadn't noticed it, so that was good.

Anyway, Ryuu took this opportunity to turn to Bell and bowed slightly as a greeting.

"My name is Ryuu Lyon. Lisa has told me a lot about you, as did Syr." She raised her head and gave Bell an appraising look. "We didn't have the chance to talk at Lili's level up celebration."

The rookie in question blushed at the attention, and Lili couldn't fault him. Ryuu was a beautiful young woman, so naturally, the boy wasn't that eloquent.

"I-I'm Bell Cranel. It's...a pleasure to m-meet you!"

As in, not eloquent at all, Lili thought dryly.

Naturally, his senior did not approve.

"Attention, future captain!" Lisa barked out and Bell reflexively stood up, standing stiff like a board.

"Yes!" He yelled and Lili swore he was about to salute before the first Hestia child nodded in approval.

"Chest out, back straight! Good!" She threw her right arm in the air with a wide grin. "Confidence! Fake it until you make it!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Bell shouted and the others tried very hard not to laugh at him. However, Lisa would not help them in that regard at all, as she crossed her arms with a blank expression.

"Now sit down, you're making a scene," she drawled, as if she didn't yell herself. One could tell how close they were, that Bell didn't even bother to call her out on this and instead sighed as he sat back down on his chair.

"Yes, ma'am..." He muttered and the others at the table had to laugh in various degrees, with Welf being the loudest and Ryuu the quietest. The latter shook her head and gave Bell a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, Cranel." She glanced behind her. "I don't believe anyone would pay attention to us right now."

Everyone followed her gaze and sweated nervously at the sight.

Beer and wine was chugged down like rain going through a sewer. It was like they were trying to infuse the wine into their skin, so red were their faces.

Honestly, Lili wasn't sure how to think about it. Sure, it was all for fun and that stuff, but…

Well, Soma Family. Bad memories. She grit her teeth and took a deep breath to calm down.

"Well damn, they are already getting wasted," Welf commented meanwhile and Ryuu turned back to the quartet, tilting her head.

"Do you not drink?" She asked and Lisa shrugged.

"I don't like it. Tastes weird," she said casually. Welf in turn scratched the back of his head.

"Heard of stories how a drunk blacksmith got himself killed." He bit his lip. "Also, not a fan of hangovers."

"I hate alcohol," Lili hissed when they looked at her, making very sure she didn't want to elaborate. It killed the mood a bit, but she didn't care and crossed her arms with a frown. The Pallum calmed down a bit when Ryuu gave her a comforting smile and she weakly smiled back.

Anyway, Bell scratched his right cheek awkwardly and chuckled a bit.

"I never had it before," he admitted, but Lisa gave him a glare.

"And you never will," she said in a flat tone and then turned to the rest of the team. "New rule. Super Rookies are not allowed to drink. All in favor?"

"Aye," Welf and Lili replied in a similar flat tone, raising their hands. But then, Lili frowned, tilting her head.

"Wait. Super Rookies?" She asked and Lisa giggled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

"Well, yeah. We are the upcoming newbies, charging through the levels like a storm!" She shot her right arm up in the air, but then wavered a bit. "At least that's what I want to believe."

The group laughed a bit at that, the mood relaxed yet again. While they went back to eating their food, with Lili sharing some with Ryuu, Lisa leaned forward to the elf, grinning widely.

"So...I heard rumors that all workers at the Hostess have a Blessing. Is that true?"

The maid munched on a carrot as she pondered about the question. Then, she gave the shielder a neutral expression.

"Not all of us. But the majority." She calmly closed her eyes. "The hostess is one of the safest places you can go. There is a reason we can enforce the rule 'no fights allowed' in here."

"Let me guess. Level four?" Lisa asked, shooting into the dark with her guess and Lili hummed in thought before Ryuu could reply.

"Probably. Not many out there that can reach second class." She grinned at the elf. "Though Ryuu is the strongest."

From the interactions she could see in the Hostess, most maids deferred to her in terms of authority if Mama Mia wasn't around, with the exception of Syr. Sure, it was more of a casual thing, but Lili could spot the subtle hints.

Besides, Obsidian flat out told her that she was strong and told the Pallum to go to her if she ever needed strong help.

Anyway, the elf coughed awkwardly and Lili could see a faint blush on her face, making the Pallum smile.

"That's not true. Mama Mia is far above us," Ryuu replied, giving Lili a small glare, which just made her smile wider as she supported her head in her hands.

"Sounds like a six," Lisa commented with an interested face and Welf tilted his head at that.

"How do you know?" He asked and the shielder grinned, pointing at herself.

"I'm good with estimations. Comes with being a merchant daughter." She wiggled with her hand."Far above usually means more than one level." Leaning her right cheek on her hand, she smirked at the elf. "I guess I'm right?"

"There is a reason we respect Mama Mia," Ryuu replied in a neutral tone.

Bell in turn raised his hand in confusion.

"I thought talking about one's status is frowned upon?"

Ryuu shook her head at that.

"As long as there aren't many details, talking about the level alone isn't forbidden. Besides, it's usually common knowledge," she explained and the other, more knowledgeable adventurers nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, they always announce level ups." Lili stared at Bell as she leaned back on her chair, arms crossed. "You didn't notice?"

"Not really," Bell replied, sheepishly scratching his right cheek. Welf in turn shrugged.

"To be fair, no level ups recently," he commented and the others let out grunts of agreements.

"I really wonder why strong people like you work at the Hostess instead of the dungeon," Lisa asked all of a sudden with a curious expression, staring at Ryuu.

The elf froze at that and took a deep breath.

"There are...many reasons," Ryuu said slowly before lowering her head. Her eyes were unfocused as her hands curled up into fists under the table. Lili was the only one who noticed and looked at her friend with worry.

"Like?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow, not noticing Ryuu's distress like Bell and Lisa. Lili decided to spare Ryuu from this and jumped in as she leaned forward, arms on the table.

"You know, retirement, finding more joy in serving or the god asked for it...Really, there are enough reasons out there," Lili replied casually, waving with her right hand. As the others nodded in understanding, she glanced at Ryuu and gave her a wink. The maid blinked in surprise, before giving Lili also a warm smile.

The Pallum was relieved as she leaned back on her chair. The mood was still good.

"Hey, Aiz! Tell us the story about the rabbit again! Not all of us were there!"

Aaaand someone had to ruin it.

The reaction was instant. Everyone at their table tensed up, but Bell was hit the worst, as his eyes widened in pure terror. Lili whipped her head around, glaring at the drunk werewolf who laughed in an ugly manner.

"Bete, you are drunk," Riveria said in disapproval, but Bete ignored her. Given that nobody else seemed to intervene, it only motivated him to become louder.

"So what?" He scoffed and then stood up, before slamming his right foot on his chair. "Fine, let me tell ya!"

Then he began to tear Bell's reputation apart by retelling what happened in the dungeon.

In the Upper Floors, a Minotaur managed to surprise him and Aiz had to save him in the last second. Of course, Aiz being Aiz obliterated the monster into blood and all of that blood splattered all over Bell as if someone spilled a bucked of red paint over him.

Then, the rookie ran away screaming when Aiz offered him a hand, making it look like Bell was afraid of Aiz.

Obviously, Bete painted Bell in a worse light than that, narrating it so that Bell sounded like the biggest wimp in the world. For example, Aiz and Bell talked right after that, courtesy to Lisa, and set aside any misunderstandings of Bell being afraid of Aiz.

Nevertheless, it took a toll on Bell, as his body trembled while he looked down on the table, drawing blood from his lips as he bit into them.

The laughter that ensured after Bete told them his version of the story made the tremors worse, even when Lisa tried her best to console him as she rubbed his back. Still, it took a lot of self control from her, Lili could see, judging from the way she trembled as well and her eyes speleld bloody murder at the werewolf.

She wasn't the only one. Everyone at the table, sans Bell, were glaring daggers at Bete. Welf growled in anger, Ryuu's eyes were filled with cold. And Lili?

She was busy trying to calm herself, before she would do something reckless.

It was the alcohol. They weren't themselves. They would never say such things or laugh about it if they were sober.

Despite that mantra inside her head, her fingers dug into the wood of the table.

It reminded her too much of the Soma Family. That's why she hated alcohol.

Still, she knew better than to react and bit her tongue. Looking at the others on the table, they thought the same. Despite their expressions, neither of them stood up and told Bete their opinion. It would only cause a scene and make the situation worse.

All they could do was to endure and help Bell.

"Come on, he's drunk. Don't let it get to you," Lisa whispered softly and Welf took a deep breath, before putting on a smile.

"Yeah, we know what happened and nobody can give you shit for that."

However, it didn't look like it helped, as Bell let out a choked sob even when he tried to force himself to smile at them.

"It...It's alright..." He muttered and clenched his eyes shut. "He isn't lying...I was pathetic..."

"Bell, lis-"

Before Lili could do her part in calming Bell down, the drunk werewolf just had to open his damn mouth again.

"Not to mention the squeal!" He barked out a laugh and slammed his fist on the table. "How can a guy have that voice? Only proves what a little bitch he is!"

The laughter began yet again in the tavern, though it was less than before. Nevertheless, rage filled the Pallum again when she saw Bell clench his fist so hard that his fingers dug into his flesh and it took a lot out of her and the others not to give in now.

Luckily for them, there was at least one voice of reason with the drunks.

"Bete, this is enough!" Riveria shouted, disapproval filling her voice as she stood up, her gaze cold. "Don't pretend this is all his fault. We are also responsible for letting the Minotaur get to him and the other level one in the first place." She looked into the round in disgust. "You all should be ashamed to laugh at a guest like that!"

At her words, realization set into the faces of the Loki Family and only now did they remember that the rookie they were making fun of was in the same building as they were.

Some of them looked over to Bell and at least had the manners to look sorry or embarrassed by their actions. Lili could swear that some gave some quiet apologies. However, it didn't soothe Bell's worries at all, judging from how he didn't chang in depressed demeanor at all. Why should he though? It's not like their deeds could be removed with a simple apology. The damage was already done. The only thing they could do was stop and let time heal the wounds they caused to his self esteem.

Sadly, Bete wasn't sober enough to get the hint to stop.

"Ugh, always the role model, huh?!" He yelled at the executive, glaring at her mockingly.

"Okay, Bete, this is seriously going too far..." Loki muttered, her drunk face looking a bit uncomfortable. But the werewolf didn't listen.

"So what if the weakling is here?! Better he knows what we think that delude himself!" He sneered at Bell, who flinched in turn. "Really, I'm doing him a favor!" His head whipped around to the Sword Princess, who stared at her cup during the whole thing. "Aiz! You agree with me, right?!"

Lili frowned when Aiz looked up. Her eyes screamed disapproval at Bete's actions and the actions of her entire family.

So why, in heaven's name, wasn't she saying anything?! Lili wanted nothing more than her defending Bell. She was more involved in this than anyone else and she had the influence in the family to pull this off without becoming an outcast, unlike Lili.

As if reading her mind, Aiz decided to speak up for the first time.

"Needing to be saved is not disgraceful. We can't judge people based on that." She glared at Bete. "And your...story isn't that close to the truth.

The werewolf flinched back at the words and Lili could see how Bell raised his head, eyes filled with a glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, Bete recovered from the setback quickly and sneered at the Sword Princess.

"What, he your boyfriend now?"

Lili's eyes widened at the spectacle in disbelief and a quick look around, she saw similar shocked expressions, that conveyed the same question.

What the hell did that have anything to do with the topic?!

Aiz, naturally, stayed silent and stared at the werewolf in shock. At the same time, the hope in Bell's eyes crashed down like a meteor.

"Bell, don't jump to conclusions!" Lisa hissed at him, but Lili could tell that the boy wasn't listening, his face frozen in shock.

Bete smirked at the silence and spread his arms open.

"See?! I knew it! A wimp like him doesn't suit you. Hell, he doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you! You don't need to pity him just to be nice!"

Yet again, Aiz stayed silent, and it was possibly the biggest blow against Bell than anything Bete ever said.

Tears fell down from Bell's eyes and he seemed ready to run away, his teeth gritted in frustration.

Lili saw red at that. From her eye corners, she could see that something snapped in her teammates as well at the sight of their newest member crying.

Okay, that was it!

Reaching under her dress, her right hand grabbed Liberty. Ryuu's eyes widened in shock, clearly disapproving of what they were about to do. But neither Lili nor cared at the moment, as she was about to whip her weapon out and bash Bete's brains in, while Welf and Lisa grabbed their chairs in anger. All of them knew, intellectually, that they would get pasted by the level five in no time. Or that Ryuu could stop them, with her level four speed.

However, neither of them cared.

Shooting up from her chair, she glared at Bete as she coiled her body to jump at him.

"You little-"

Before she could get more out or anyone could react, the doors of the Hostess were kicked open, the hinges barely hanging it from the force. Everyone inside turned to the exit in order to see the culprit.

For anyone who didn't know him, it was a terrifying sight. For those who knew him, like Lili, it was a bit surprising.

Obsidian Noir stood there, with his right leg extended in the air, before it slowly went back on the ground. As usual, he looked as he did for years, but what caught Lili's attention, and thus forget her anger, was his eyes. They were bloodshot, wide, and she swore she could see them twitch. Not to mention the heavy breathing. Any person he looked at flinched away, as his eyes unnervingly didn't flinch.

Honestly, this was the look of a man who was just done with today and the Pallum was afraid he would start ripping heads off if anyone just looked at him weirdly.

Not that it stopped a certain inn keeper to be pissed for the entrance.

"Hey, watch it!" Mama Mia bellowed, but Obsidian was not fazed at all when he slowly turned his head to her, his stare empty.

"I just did hours upon hours of paperwork because someone didn't notify me beforehand that I should have done it days ago and then had to do paperwork for the job I was hired from that same person, and I had to do more paperwork for something else, again for that person, so you can say I'm a little bit livid," he explained in a monotone tone, which freaked Lili out. Glancing around, she could see she wasn't the only one, judging from the weird looks and leaning away others did.

"No reason to kick my door in!" Mama Mia huffed and looked around with a glare. "Who closed it anyway?! It's damn stuffy in here!"

There was a suspicious loud cough, but before Lili could figure out who did it, Obsidian pulled a big pouch out of his cloak and threw it at the boss of the Hostess.

"I pay extra," he drawled out. Mama Mia in turn did a one eighty in terms of attitude. A wide grin appeared and she huffed with her hands on her hips.

"Come in and sit down! The usual?" She asked in a pleasant tone and Obsidian nodded as he walked past the frozen masses.

"Yes."

With that, he pulled out a chair when he reached Lili and the others and let himself fall down between Ryuu and Lili as if nothing happened.

Well, that just shifted the mood in a heartbeat, the student thought dryly, while Ryuu gave her teacher a glare for forcing himself between them. Anyway, her teacher raised an eyebrow when he looked at the standing trio.

"Did you just want to start a bar fight?" He asked in disbelief and Lili realized that the frozen positions they were in looked incredibly stupid.

Embarrassed, the trio sat down, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with anyone. Well, at least the situation was a hell of a lot better than before, Lili thought in disbelief.

Hell, Bell even stopped crying and stared at Obsidian with wide eyes, who leaned back on his chair and let out a relaxed breath with closed eyes. Then he opened them, leaning forward on the table. Tapping the table casually, her teacher looked at them with curious eyes.

"So. I smell angst and drama. What did I miss?"

* * *

 **Brave New World 8.5**

Obsidian stared at them in expectation, but nobody at the table managed to get a word out. How could they? Just a moment ago, they were ready to throw down with someone far above them in terms of strength and skill and now the mood got brutally murdered by the bandaged man.

Seriously, this was too sudden of a shift in atmosphere, the Pallum thought as she stared at her teacher with wide eyes. Lili had no idea what to do! Her brain was still busy keeping up with this!

Luckily for them, Ryuu was the one who managed to compose herself first, courtesy to not having cried or having a weapon in her hand to kill someone. With a cough, she gained his attention and she calmly took a sip from her water, her eyes closed.

"Bete Loga decided to badmouth Cranel over here in a rather brute and disrespectful manner." The maid let out a sigh and opened her eyes, expression completely neutral now. "The rest of the family also forgot Cranel was here and laughed at him."

Lili and the others averted their eyes, with Bell showing sorrow in his eyes while the other three had anger in them. However, that quickly went away, yet again because of her teacher.

Obsidian's reaction was rather lackluster. With disinterest in his face, he let out a grunt.

"Annoying shit, got it. Explains why you wanted to die against a level five," he said dryly, causing the guilty ones to blush a bit in embarrassment. He let out a sigh and raised his right hand, head turned towards the counter. "Some water please!"

"Seriously, what did you do?" Welf managed to get out, despite still being in a daze. At Obsidian's dry glance, he cleared his throat awkwardly and pointed over Lili's shoulder in front of him. "To kick the door in?"

Why was he so uncaring, was the unasked question.

Lili had to agree. What happened that made him so lacking in energy? Sure, paperwork was annoying, but how much did he had to do to end up like that?

"Exactly what I just said." He let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Then he began to rub his face to massage the tiredness out, before he slumped back on his chair, eyes half open. He completely ignored the fact that the whole tavern was still dead silent, except of some random clinking of dishes or steps from maids and Mama Mia. He just didn't give a damn. Not about the stares he received, nor about the occasional cough.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one, as Mama Mia waltzed up to their table, with a plate of rice and chicken, coupled with a bottle Lili never saw in her life. It was made of blue tinted glass for some reason, with a circle with white spots on it, surrounded by a katana, an arrow, a staff and a halberd.

"Well, you're lucky today, Noir! The drink you requested is here!" She announced with a boisterous laugh and Obsidian froze, staring at the bottle with wide eyes. Lisa had the same reaction, confusing the non-Boundary natives even more.

"Is that Boundary's Extra Bubbly Water that kills your throat?" She whispered in awe and to Lili's surprise, Obsidian's face split into a grin underneath the bandages.

"Yup," he replied, letting out a pop with his mouth and Welf looked at him with a minor freak out.

"I can hear the capitalization..." He muttered, but Obsidian ignored him in favor of opening the cork on the bottle. The moment he did, a loud pop sounded in the room and to Lili's surprise, a faint steam left the bottle. Then, he poured it down on a glass tha Mama Mia provided and Lili could see that it was in fact water. Clear, with no colors.

However, even though it was in the name, it fizzed like crazy. Millions of bubble rose to the air, making it sound like someone was cooking something in oil.

The Pallum sweated nervously at its appearance. Lili knew it was cold, because who would serve hot water, but...

It looked like this water was boiling!

Not that it bothered her teacher, who let out a small laugh and raised his glass in the air.

"Cheers!" With that, he downed the water in one go, gulped and let out a satisfied breath, as he slammed his free, left hand on the table. "WHOOHOO! Missed this stuff!"

He made it look so satisfying, the Pallum thought absentmindedly. Only now did Lili notice how dry her throat was at the moment. Because of that, she couldn't control the words coming out of her mouth.

"Can I have some?"

At her question, Obsidian raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure." Then he took a look around at the rest of her teammates and wiggled with the bottle at them. "You know what, you all can have something."

Interest filled their faces as he poured the water in, with the exception of Bell, who looked away with a downcast expression.

"I'm fine..." He muttered, but then a finger snap from Obsidian made him jump, who glared at him unimpressed.

"Kid. You look like you need the best drink in the world. So take it."

Bell hesitated when the bandaged man poured him the water in as well. But in the end, he let out a sigh and raised the cup, eying it with little skeptic stare, before looking at his seniors, who had their own doubts as well. With the exception with Lisa though, who chucked the liquid down her throat, causing the others to shrug.

Eh, how bad could it be?

With that in mind, the other three let the water flow into their throats as well. The instance they did so, regret filled their faces immediately. The next moment, they spat out the water at the same time and coughed furiously, tears in their eyes.

"Ey! Don't waste it!"

They ignored Obsidian's angry exclamation in favor of trying to regain their breath and drinking normal water instead of whatever the hell he gave them. On the one hand, it was cold for the first instance in touched her tongue.

On the other hand, it was like having shards cutting up her throat and tongue from the inside!

Only Lisa somewhat endured it, but tears still welled up in her eyes as she almost looked tortured when she forced the so called water down her throat. Still, she did better than the other three and smiled weakly as she looked at her suffering teammates.

"I forgot how tough this stuff is..." She muttered, but Lili was not as calm as she was and slammed her mug down on the table, sending Ryuu a glare, who tried to stifle a giggle, before pointing at her teacher accusingly.

"What the hell was that?!" She yelled at him and the man stared at her in silence for a few moments. Then he dryly pointed at the bottle with the label on it.  
"Extra Bubbly Water," he responded in a very slow tone and Welf beat Lili in giving an appropriate reply.

"What the hell is in there?!" He screamed and coughed again, hitting his chest lightly before he gulped in order to get rid of the pain. "Gods, felt like some mini creature went crazy with knifes in there!"

"A high concentration of carbon dioxide that causes the sparkling to reach maximum overdrive," Obsidian explained in a bland manner and at hearing that, the team sans Lisa made a double take at the bottle, before turning back to him.

"And you like that?!" Lili shouted at him in disbelief and he opened his mouth to reply.

Instead of words however, a loud burp came out. At the same time, Lisa burped as well, but it was so quiet that almost nobody aside from Lili even noticed.

The silence was deafining as Obsidian hit his chest a couple of times, face apathetic despite the situation.

"Does that answer it?"

"That was disgusting," Ryuu stated in distaste and Obsidian turned to her, before spreading his arms out.

"Look upon this Hostess and try to find my fucks." He looked into the bottle in his right hand, then turned to the masses while shaking it. "Anyone else want a taste?"

For a while, nobody said anything, staring at Obsidian like he was crazy. No, scratch that, they realized he was crazy, but tried to convince themselves otherwise.

But then, someone let out an amused snort.

"Pff, if I wanna kill myself, I eat a sword!" That someone yelled and amused laughter occurred inside the Hostess.

"Axes are more manly!" Obsidian yelled back and the laughter in the tavern intensified.

With that, the casual mood was back in the Hostess and Lili stared at her teacher with wide eyes for accomplishing that so easily. Everybody stopped focusing on them and forgot what just happened, instead drowning themselves in cheerful singing and drinking.

She gave Obsidian a suspicious glare as he sat back down. Was that on purpose? Judging from the way his eyes glinted, it probably was. Before she could ponder more on it however, her eyes widened when two people walked up to their table.

To be specific, Riveria and Aiz.

Naturally, the latter caused Bell to freeze up again and lower his head. However, Riveria was having none of that, as she stepped forward and regarded him with neutral eyes that would cause any normal guy to cower in fear.

"Bell Cranel. Please, raise your head," she ordered and Bell did so, with hesitation. What followed next, surprised everyone at the table sans Obsidian. Even Ryuu gasped in shock.

The high elf, royal heir of the elven kingdom...bowed to a rookie. Aiz did as well, but Lili focused more on the actual royalty here.

"In the name of the Loki Family, I apologize for Bete's and my comrades' behavior. Please, forgive us," she said with a remorseful look, mirroring the Sword Princess' expression.

Bell, of course, was completely overwhelmed with this. At first, he blinked in incomprehension. Then, he blushed furiously and frantically waved his hands around with a stammer.

"U-uhm, it's f-fine! Really!"

However, neither of the top class adventurers were in the mood to put up with this and Aiz stepped forward, causing the boy to blush even more, and look at him with a frown.

"No, it's not." She lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry. I should have said more to defend you."

Bell's blush intensified at the sight of his idol acting so meek and Lili could swear he began to hyperventilate.

"R-really, it's okay! They...were drunk! That's all!" He exclaimed, letting out a nervous giggle, as his eyes wandered around, looking at the others at the table. Lili's eyes widened at that.

No wonder he was more nervous than usual, he had an audience just looking at him as if he was some attraction during an auction.

"Being drunk doesn't excuse us," Riveria stated with a frown, glancing over her shoulder at her family, who celebrated a bit less enthusiastic than before.

Bell opened his mouth, but then a small thud caused him to look at Obsidian, who put his glass down on the table.

"Kid. Just accept the damn apology before you have an aneurysm," he said annoyed. At the confused looks from the majority at the table, he rolled his eyes and twirled with his hand. "Before you pass out."

The rookie in turn took a deep breath and looked back at Aiz and Riveria. Despite the flushed face, he managed to put up a brave front and nodded.

"I...accept your apology."

Huh. No stutter. Lili let out an impressed grunt.

Anyway, with that done, Obsidian rested his chin on his right hand, before tilting his head at Riveria.

"Where is the douche anyway?" He asked and the elf coughed for a moment with closed eyes and seemed awfully pleased, judging from her small smirk.

"The amazons kidnapped Bete and took him out to punish him," she replied, opening her right eye at him, who smirked as well.

"Neat."

Riveria then looked at the group as a whole and bowed slightly.

"I hope you will still enjoy the party."

With that done, she and Aiz walked back to their own table, leaving Lili alone with her team, her teacher and her maid friend. Obsidian immediately took the chance to turn around at the Pallum, who jumped at the sudden movement.

"Anywho..." He drawled and took a deep breath.

Then he grabbed his student at the shoulders and his face closed in, almost touching Lili's face.

"You okay? No injuries? Clothes ripped? Did you eat well? Did you have nightmares?" Obsidian asked in a fast paced manner, his voice blank even though his eyes were full with worries. Lili would be touched by that, if it weren't for the fact he was invading her personal space. Backing away in disgust, she slapped his arms off her shoulders, but he just put them back on every time she did so.

"Teacher, stop it! Not in front of everyone!" She yelled, face red as she glared at him. However, Obsidian did not stop with his hands, his mouth twitching in amusement. She could hear some snickers in the background and Lili swore she would drag them down to hell the next chance she got.

"Answer the questions and I stop."

Letting out a frustrated groan, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes, a few, a little, yes, no, satisfied?"

Immediately, Obsidian let go and nodded in approval. Lili slumped back down on her chair with a blush and a pout, ignoring the giggling around her.

"Good enough," her teacher said in approval. Then, he whipped his head at his fellow country woman. "Lisa?"

Dread filled the Pallum, but before she could do anything, the shielder grinned widely.

"She used Pressure Release without permission," she replied gleefully as she rested her chin on her hands. Then she snapped her finger, mouth wide open. "Oh, and she wanted to fight close and personal against exploding acid caterpillars!"

"Thank you." Obsidian nodded and turned to Lili with a grin. "Extra drills."

In turn, her head hit the table and she let out a deep, suffering groan. Still, despite the laughter at the table, Lili couldn't help but smile.

Everyone was enjoying themselves. That's what Lili wanted. Not anger or self hate. Hell, her anger at Bete almost felt like a memory now. Because of that, she raised her head at her teacher.

"Thanks, dad," she said softly.

Instead of a smile back however, he froze and turned his head to her with wide eyes. At the same time, everyone else stopped laughing at the same time. Even Ryuu looked at her in shock. Lili tilted her head in confusion.

"What?"  
"You... called him 'dad'," Welf slowly explained to her and the Pallum blinked. When she processed the words, horror crept up on her face, as well as heat.

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, only weird choking noises.

She could still salvage this, Lili thought in panic, as the stares intensified.

"No, I said...lad."

Not even the sheer disappointment on everyone's faces, including Bell, hurt as much than actually saying those awkward, awkward words.

"Really," Lisa asked in a dry manner, voicing out what everyone was thinking and Lili shrunk down on her chair. Obsidian stared at her for quite a while, making her bite her lip as she was red as Bell was when Aiz was there.

Then...he shrugged and focused back on his food. She stared at him, expecting him to make a joke or something, but nothing happened. She gulped uncomfortably and her mouth thinned. She was slightly aware that Ryuu and Lisa gave Obsidian a glare, but Lili didn't care at the moment.

The lack of a reaction kind of hurt, she had to admit as she looked down on the table.

"Why thank me?" He asked in a quiet tone, glass in hand. Lili looked up after taking a deep breath.

So what if he didn't react being called dad? It wasn't like they suddenly weren't close anymore. It was probably his poker face. Yeah, that was it. No need to feel down.

With that in mind, she put on a smile and folded her hands on her lap.

"You deescalated. Or, well, at least distracted us for them to take Bete gods know where."

Obsidian in turn let out a snort.

"Then you're welcome." He sighed and shook his head "I hate drama. Annoys me to no end."

"You sound like you talk from experience," Ryuu stated and Obsidian scoffed, before his eyes seemed to become foggy due to looking into his memories.

"One time there was drama, a whole village was poisoned." He took in a sharp breath. "Myself included. It was not fun."

He let out a shudder and shook his head, blinking furiously and ignoring the blank stares he received. What were they supposed to say to that? It needed way more context than he gave and was probably going to give.

Luckily, neither of them had to say something, because Mama Mia's voice bellowed from behind the counter.

"Ryuu, get your ass over here! There is more than I expected!"

Instantly, Ryuu stood up without even bothering to confirm the claim and bowed politely.

"I shall take my leave then."

"Enjoy yourself!" Lili called after her as she swiftly navigated through the masses to reach her boss in order to receive her orders.

The moment the elf left, Obsidian clapped his hands together, having recovered from his minor flashback.

"Welp, now that she is gone, might as well do it now." Elbow on the table, he pointed at all of them and grinned. "About our next training session...I've decided that instead of beating you up one by one, I will train your teamwork."

"So beat us up at the same time?" Lisa asked dryly and Obsidian nodded.  
"Sharing is caring."

"Are you sure about this? I mean...we are all level two?" Welf asked a bit offended, not noticing the looks of incredulity from Lisa and Lili. The teacher gave him a dry look.

"Buddy," he began in an even tone. "The fact that you are level two is the only reason I am even considering the teamwork."

"W-why? That doesn't make any sense," Bell asked in confusion and Obsidian's face became a blank expression.

"I trained Lili, and by extension these guys, so long without any weapons, I can say I went from rusty to acceptable," he said in an emotionless tone. Then, his face split into a wide grin. "Therefore, I decided that they can somewhat survive me using a weapon if they all worked together."

In that moment, Lili knew true fear and judging from the pale faces of Lisa and Welf, they felt the same. A shudder went down her spine and she could swear there was a sinister aura around her teacher.

Lisa summarized their feelings the best.

"Oh gods," she choked out and Bell laughed nervously. He stopped when Obsidian pointed at him.

"Bell, you join as well," he said in a jolly manner and Bell blanched.

For a moment, he looked like he was about to object. Instead of doing the sensible thing however, he stopped himself, closing his mouth. Then, he took a deep breath and looked up with determination.

"If it helps me get stronger...Please train me," he said in a respectful tone and lowered his head a bit. To everyone's surprise, the bandaged man clicked his tongue at that.

"That's nice and all, but don't listen to what doggie boy said." His words caused Bell to flinch, but before the rookie could deny him, Obsidian calmly raised his head and smiled softly. "We all start of as little weaklings. No need to feel down."

"Even you?" Bell asked surprised and the older man crossed his arms, looking offended by the mere notion of not having been weak.

"Of course. I cried like a bitch when I became an adventurer." He paused, then scratched his chin taughtfully. "Though that would be more because of the wolves chasing after me until I got fed up and killed them in a rage."

"One day you gotta compile all of those stories," Lisa said dryly and Obsidian shrugged in turn.

"Braniac is working on it." However, his smile vanished and a frown replaced it. "Though knowing him, he will make it into a cheesy romance novel." He let out a sigh and began to mutter. "Stupid Oliver Queen rip off..."

"What's Oliver Queen?" Lili whispered at Lisa, who shrugged, equally confused.

"Nobody knows. The other lords always tease Lord Hood with it and the latter is always agitated by the name for some reason."

A loud cough caused the Pallum to lean back against her chair and focused back on Obsidian, who tapped the table with his right index finger.

"Anyway, my point...don't be embarrassed. We all have our low days. You think Bete started of as strong?"

He gave everyone at the table a pointed look and everyone made thoughtful expressions, with Bell staring at the table as he mused over his words. When the group nodded in understanding, Obsidian continued, twirling with his right hand.

"Listen, he wasn't exactly wrong, but it needs some explaining. It's all about mentality. If you think you are weak, of course you stay weak. It's about wanting to change that. Not saying it's guaranteed to work, but it's better than not trying at all." With a sigh, the man leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, smiling at Bell. "You will get to their level eventually. Nobody can tell you that you can't."

For a moment, Bell's eyes were hidden under the shadows his hair created. Then he snapped his head up and Obsidian visibly recoiled. Not that the Pallum could blame him.

Bell's eyes sparkled as he smiled at her teacher with admiration. Lili sighed and rubbed her face. How in the world was anyone gonna believe that guy was eighteen years old, despite being so cute?

"Thank you, Mister!"

His smile fell when the teacher made a retch noise, causing the other three to chuckle in amusement.  
"Call me teacher or Obsidian. I'm not that old," he said with a frown, but before Bell could agree, Welf leaned forward.

"How old are you?" He asked intrigued and Obsidian froze. Lisa also suspiciously avoided eye contact, whistling as she stared at the ceiling.

Lili however, slowly began to grin.

"Younger than Finn," Obsidian commented in a neutral manner and this was the moment when Lili struck.

"He's thirty."

While Welf and Bell let out an intrigued "hm", Lisa gaped at the Pallum. Obsidian on the other hand flat out glared at Lili, which only caused her to grin more.

"I will choke you," the teacher growled and pointed at himself. "Also, it's twenty eight, not thirty."

"You are old. Just face it," the student announced smugly and crossed her arms. "You have a blessing, age shouldn't matter."

"I just don't like being reminded all the time," the old man grumbled with crossed arms and averted his eyes with a pout.

"Like saying you're old?" Lili asked gleefully and Obsidian looked at her with wide eyes, twitching a little in irritation. Honestly, she expected him to punch her or yell at her. Instead, Obsidian just sighed and cracked his neck.

"Going home. Hope you won't regret it, Bell. Have fun celebrating." He stood up from his chair and yawned. Then, stretching his back a little, he made his way towards the exit.

"Night, old man," the student muttered in an amused scoff as he walked away. However, her teacher stopped walking for some reason, turned around and walked back up to Lili. As she tilted her head, she was about to ask what's wrong.

Then, he punched her in the face.

Staring at the ceiling, Lili's eyes were wide open in the dark. Despite the soft bed she was in, her frown was intense. And no, it was not only because of the black right eye she had and the faint taste of blood in her mouth. Though it did hurt a lot and she probably pushed it a bit too much. No, the problem was rather a mistake of the past.

"Damn it, past self," she muttered in agitation and let out a groan when she turned around, trying to bury her head into her pillow to look if that helped. Sadly, she did not get a tiny bit more tired, due to having used up her sleep meter before the party.

"I warned you," her roommate muttered in a tired tone and Lili in turn glared at her.

"Don't sass me, Lefiya." She let out a sigh and threw her blanket off her body, before standing up to walk over to her giant bag, left from her supporter days. "I'll just read one of teacher's boring novels he gave me."

"You shouldn't insult gifts like that," she heard Lefiya chide her and Lili could imagine her frown. In turn, the Pallum giggled and waved with one book in her hand at the elf.

"No, they are literally his boring novels. He called them that himself," she said amused, before flopping back into her bed. Just as she turned on her night light and was about to open the first page, she heard some rustling next to her. With curiosity, Lili glanced at the elf, who now sat upright in her bed, eyes narrowed at Lili.

"Now I'm too curious too sleep," she grumbled with a pout and Lili rolled her eyes, before sliding more to the side to make more room on her bed. Then, she patted with her hand on the free spot.

"Grab your blanket and come over here then."

* * *

 **So...I now have a Patr. If you want to support and donate to me, go to /ObsidianNoir after the .com of the site. It won't affect the updates, but it will have some little bonuses here and there.**


	9. Chapter 9

**History Returns 9.1**

Lili always wondered why the walls were always empty and thus basically perfect for training. Maybe it was a relict of the past, not that the Pallum was a big history buff. Perhaps there were better places to train, like personal halls or Monster Farms owned by big families.

Whatever the case was, the rookie team gathered on this very wall, wearing their combat gear on demand of their teacher. Said teacher wore what he always did, but this time, as he promised before, he was armed. The weapon he was armed with however was rather disappointing on first glance.

It was a hammer. Not a warhammer, or a hammer Welf tended to use in the forge. It was a wood hammer. Completely out of wood, for one hand. It was the most harmless thing Lili had ever seen that could be called a weapon, since it was barely the length of her own head.

Nevertheless, Obsidian insisted that they should use their sharp, deadly weapons, casually held the hammer in his right hand, hanging at his side. Naturally, the students weren't so sure about that. They were confident in their abilities and their teamwork. Their level ups gave them even more options to work with and they somewhat got used to Obsidian's speed and strength.

Then the three "seniors" remembered who they were dealing with, a guy who screamed random stuff and still kicked their asses without breaking a sweat. They decided to take this serious then and there, weapons brandished, Liberty in dagger form in Lili's case. Sadly, their newest member did not have such life experience and still seemed skeptical about this. After all, it felt unfair to use a real knife against an opponent who only had a wood hammer to defend himself with. Of course, that was before the training began and Bell realized his knife was sooner to break against the air than hurt the teacher, or touch him in the first place.

Though hitting him wasn't the biggest problem the team currently had. They had been breathing heavily after the first minute of fighting and Obsidian didn't eve attack yet. All he did was parry and dodge, as the team went after him one by one, immediately following up if someone missed.

However, Obsidian's observation phase was over now, as he cracked his left fingers.

Bell jumped forward with a cry, but a hammer to his right cheek quickly shut him up and made him fly over the head of Welf.

"BOOM!" The man yelled with a wide grin and cracked his neck as he lightly jumped on the spot, moving as if he was walking on the same spot.

The blacksmith took a deep breath and swung his sword downwards the moment Bell was out of the way. Almost disappointed for a moment, Obsidian spun to his right.

"ORA!"

Using the momentum, he kicked Welf in the stomach, making him fly straight into Bell, who was about to recover from his daze. A loud "oof" later and Lisa rushed forward, shield in front of her. While Obsidian nodded in approval, his casual grin was still in place as he reeled his right arm back. Then, he swung his hammer with full force into the shield.

"SEI!"

Now, for reference. The shield may not have been made of an Infant Dragon, but it was still pretty good metal that was usually used in the Middle Floors. It could hold up to a Minotaur, one of the physical toughest monsters. In comparison...a hammer that was cut from a tree with zero iron. By all means, the wood should have shattered on the shield.

Instead, Lisa was launched away like she weighted nothing and Obsidian's weapon was not a bit worse to wear. Naturally, the shielder's eyes went wide open, but then she turned her head around in panic, to see Welf about to stand up, while Bell twirled his head, stars in his eyes.

"Incoming!"

Another crash, another down. Now it was up to Lili. Honestly, she fought him often enough to not feel scared, but the hammer made all the difference, which caused her to be wary of it.

Knowing from experience, the reach advantage from her other weapon forms were useless against him, so she had to put everything into speed. With that in mind she made quick steps to increase her speed, before circling around him with narrowed eyes.

The man didn't follow her with his eyes. He just stood there and looked at her groaning teammates, trying to stand up and fuss over Bell, who was hit by two young adults at full force. Lili knew better than believing that was an opening though.

Obsidian had eyes everywhere. She tried the blind spot thing early in their training and no matter what she did, he dodged her or blocked perfectly.

Because of that, she decided to go with her usual approach.

Don't be picky.

With that in mind, she aimed for his neck, after twirling her weapon for a stab. Naturally, the hammer appeared in a flash, knocking her dagger off course to the left to barely miss him. Lili clicked her tongue. He made it look so casual as well.

Well, whatever.

He may have predicted it, but blocking something aimed at your back was harder than something aimed at your front. It was a minor difference, but it gave her time to predict him. As in, ducking the moment he spun around to his left, elbow aimed at her face.

Then, Lili breathed in, dagger in reverse form, and began to slash at him with all her speed.

Kidney was defended. Attack on the left arm was blocked. Stab to the heart was deflected. Her dagger was battered away when she slashed at his throat.

And many, many similar situations happened. She attacked, he made sure that attack was useless.

He did all of that with only one arm and his weapon. It frustrated the Pallum.

Logically, a hammer should not have been so versatile in blocking or attacking, but Obsidian apparently had enough experience to move it like a knife, as he pushed her dagger down again and almost immediately spun the hammer to hit her in her left side of her face. Only a quick sway back saved her from losing a tooth or two. She grit her teeth in frustration.

She just needed to get a damn hit in and then she could escalate!

Her eyes widened when she saw him move his right arm in a certain way similar to what she saw Lisa do often enough with her shield. Already ducking away to the right side, he grinned widely.

"TOMAHAWK!"

With that, his right arm blurred for a bit. He didn't make a wide swing, it was more of a hand snap. Nevertheless, as she expected, the hammer was no longer in his hand and instead, Lili felt a sharp wind brush her left ear. While Lili sweated, she smirked. The hammer missed her, barely. Still, his screaming was getting on her nerves, she thought as her smile fell.

It wasn't even a tomahawk! Lili rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, before restarting her assault. He lost the weapon after all, so this should be easier now.

More confident in herself, she ran forward, but to her surprise, the man just crossed his arms with a smile. It ticked her off a little. By now, he should have some respect for her skills.

Then, a distant memory awoke in her head and Lili's eyes widened, at the same time as his smirk grew wider.

Wait. Didn't Lisa told her something about toma-

Before she could finish the thought, sharp pain sparked on the back of her head. As her vision blurred and she hissed at the agony, she could hear a quiet thud.

Then, pain flared up in her stomach and she felt her world move. At the same time, Lili realized what Obsidian just did.

He kicked her in the stomach the same way he kicked open the Hostess' doors.

Then, she crashed against the wall. Well, would have. Instead, she landed on something slightly more squishy. Some part of her knew she crashed into her teammates, but most of her was more busy falling forward on the ground and squirming in agony.

"I...told you we should move..." She could hear Lisa mutter with a groan.

"Tell that to my broken body..." Welf replied, equally beaten up. "Bell, you okay?"

"No, grandpa, I wanna hear more about the maiden and the hero..." He muttered, clearly not fully conscious anymore.

The aftermath was a blur for her, but it was probably nothing more than recovering from the beating. Anyway, her mind decided to reactivate when she and the others were sitting in front of her teacher, who also sat in a cross legged position.

The smug aura around him made Lili combine her glare with the others to achieve the feat of incinerating him with only using eyes.

It didn't work, sadly.

"Awake now?" He asked in a sweet tone and their glares intensified.

"Fuck you," the three seniors replied in sync and Obsidian waved them off dismissively.

"Yes, yes." He crossed his arms and looked at the pouting Bell with a more sincere grin. "So. First impression?"

"Painful," he muttered and sighed, before looking at the teacher with a raised eyebrow. "Was that necessary?"

"Silly Bell," Obsidian replied with a "tsk" and raised his right index finger. "To be a good fighter, you first need to learn to be beaten up and stand up despite that. That's my philosophy."

"You really need a different one," Lili said dryly and the man shrugged casually.

"Works fine with me, so you're just whiny." He gave Lisa a grin. "Boundary style."

Said merchant daughter however only gave him a flat look, shaking her head slowly.  
"Lord Noir, everyone agrees that you and the other Lords are crazy. Nobody else thinks that's a good idea."

"Crazy is good," Obsidian replied with a frown, before putting his hands on his knees. "Besides, it works, doesn't it? Nobody died yet, according to them."

That was not reassuring at all. The students all shared a glance and decided not to push it. Still, the complains were not over, as it was Welf's turn now as he pointed at the wooden hammer lying on Obsidian's right.

"What's that thing even made off?!" He yelled at the travesty of a weapon and the teacher shrugged.

"Normal wood." He wiggled with his right hand, his left hand supporting him as he leaned back. "I just covered it with neutral magic to harden it."

Lili tilted her head, at the same time as the others. That was the first time she ever heard of that. Then again, her teacher did tend to whip out new stuff out of his cloak every other day.

"You can do that?" She asked and Obsidian nodded.

"If you can control your magic power, yes." Before they could raise their hopes, he raised his hand while shaking his head. "I won't teach you that. It's harder than it sounds and I'm not the mage in the family. Also..."

A loud crack made them jump and they looked at the hammer, that now was nothing more than a bunch of wood splinters.

"That," Obsidian said casually, pointing at it. "Magic is only temporary. The damage returns once it wears off. Only useful for training and saving up money."

"Aren't you rich?" Welf asked and the bandaged man gave him a flat stare.  
"Never waste."

True enough, Lili thought and judging from the way the others nodded, they thought so too. Anyway, the man stood up and clapped his hands together.

"Alright, let's start the review..." He sighed and shook his head. "Don't come at me one by one. I thought you learned your lesson."

Lili coughed awkwardly. Glancing at her teammates, they had similar reactions. Bell blushed, Welf scratched his head sheepishly and Lisa giggled nervously.

"Sorry. Real weapons and all that..." The blacksmith replied.

"Also, with Bell, we kinda need to rethink our formations," the shielder added and Obsidian nodded at that, before pointing at said girl.

"Lisa, while it's good that you stopped throwing the shield non stop, you still rely too much on the sturdiness of your shield and too much on defense. Running up to me like a bull doesn't work when your opponent is stronger than you. Mix it up when you defend. Parry, dodge, there is more than one way to reduce damage. And you can't beat anyone if you don't attack them properly. So throw when you should, not when you want."

Lisa grunted in acknowledgment, eyes focused as she processed the information. Next, he turned to the next target with his finger.

"Welf, good power and way better efficiency than before, but don't bother with speed, it doesn't suit you. Instead, you need to predict where your opponent is going and what you need to do to make their life hell. Also, work on your toughness and efficiency. Those still got some work to do."

Welf sighed, but nodded nonetheless. Obsidian then pointed at Lili.

"Lili, transition got better, but only with Liberty. Between other weapons, it's still too clunky. Either properly learn how to handle all the weapons you carry around or figure out other ways to fight with Liberty." He frowned. "Also, rely less on Infinite Shift. It's useless against stronger and more skilled opponents. You gotta fill that hole."

At that, the Pallum frowned and looked away with a pout.

"What do you think I've been trying to do?" She muttered, but straightened up her back when he raised his right hand in disapproval.

"Not what I just said. I know what you were thinking. Just one hit and I can ramp up, just one hit and I can hit him even more." He sighed and shook his head. "Really, you've been trying to abuse your skill in order to beat me, but you don't have to beat me, you have to get better. Desperation gets you nowhere, as does trying to stall time against someone who can break you if he ever wanted to."

Lili lowered her head. She...did focus a lot on her skill, didn't she? Why else would she have decided to branch out in order to somewhat use new weapons? It was all so that she could ramp up faster.

Lili sighed. Her teacher was right. She should focus on mastery first, instead of leveraging one skill of hers. Because of that, she nodded slowly and Obsidian gave her a small smile. Her attention shifted when she saw a hand being raised at the corner of her vision and everyone turned to Bell, who seemed a bit nervous.

"What about me?"

For a moment, the teacher frowned in thought, as if wondering how to give him the review. In the end he shrugged and began to move his finger with every point he made.

"Be more practical in your movements. Think more, less charging in thoughtlessly. Look for openings, counter attacks and be more patient. Look for weak spots if you can, but don't be picky if you don't find one. Use your whole body, the knife isn't the only thing you have for attack. Less jumps too, or else your speed is wasted. Don't hesitate in anything you do. Don't scream like an idiot, that wastes breath, unless you need to psyche yourself up, then keep doing it. And..." He trailed off, wincing when he saw Bell's horrified expression and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Well...you're fast?"

The other students gave him a flat look, while Lisa at the same time patted the shocked Bell on the back.

"Wow, that was harsh, Lord Noir," she said in a somber tone and Obsidian raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, training is only useful if the critique is honest. And he needs lots of improving." He sighed and gave his newest student an exasperated look. "Back straight, it's only the start. Lili did as bad as you."

The Pallum in turn groaned and rolled her eyes, before glaring at him.

"Thanks, teacher. Thanks," she drawled and the man shrugged with not a single care.

"Lead by example." He stretched his back and cracked his neck, before walking off, waving his arm at them dismissively. "Anyway, ten minute break."

With that, he walked off, probably taking a walk, leaving the students to themselves. Immediately, Lisa turned to Bell, narrowed her eyes in worry.

"You do know he is just trying to help, right?" She asked in a soft tone and the rookie nodded slowly.

"Yes, but..." He sighed, eyes downcast, but not depressed. "I didn't expect to be that bad..."

"You're a beginner," Lili argued and crossed her arms. "Really, it's better to have him rip you apart now with words than a monster rip you apart with claws."

The captain of the Hestia family nodded, raising his head with determination. Everyone could tell that he took the words to heart and was hyper focused on improving.

Anyway, as they recovered their breath, Lili tilted her head at the others.

"Any of you got a status update already?"

Normally, the status of someone was a private matter, that only the gods and the Guild knew of. It was considered an invasion of privacy to look at someone's status, thus talking about it at all was frowned upon. However, surrounded by friends and asking for updates, which only included the stats, Lili didn't feel like she crossed any lines. The others felt the same, as the others nodded.

"Yup. You don't?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow and Lili shook her head.

"There were lots of people, but I managed to squeeze in." She grinned and puffed out her chest. "Pretty good boost."

To be specific, almost all of her stats reached F, which was usually insane for only two weeks. But considering the drills she had with Obsidian and the fact she survived the Lower Levels, it made sense for her. The E in magic pleased her the most though. Considering it was a fundamental part of her fighting style and that it was a cheap, but powerful technique, it was natural she would focus on that.

Not to mention her fa-teacher had the same magic, though she didn't see him use it often. Or at all.  
Anywho, with that in mind, she turned to Bell, after listening to the others giving their status updates, which were about the same as hers.

"What about you, Bell?"

"Oh, it was...pretty good."

That was rather vague, Lili thought with a frown, but his words still fit from what she could see. Training with Lisa before the expedition, the expedition...pretty good should describe that.

Now that she was thinking about it, Bell was moving pretty good for a level one. Well, up until he got thrown against the wall, but still. He performed much better than her in her first lesson.

The Pallum glanced at the other member of his family and raised an eyebrow.

Lisa bit her lip in discomfort and shook her head. It signaled Lili "Later", whenever that was. The girl nodded slowly, frowning. What was so bad that she had to keep quiet about it?

In the end, the Pallum shrugged. Oh well. Not like it was her business to figure out everything about somebody else' status. Welf didn't seem to care as he slapped Bell on his back with enthusiasm, so why should she be so concerned about it?

Time for a topic change. Turning to the blacksmith, she grinned at him.

"Hey, did you use your Vision on teacher?" She asked with curiosity, but to her disappointment, the young man sighed.

"Yeah, but I didn't get anything." He shrugged. "Guess he's too strong for it to work."

"Or he has a way to disguise it." At Lili's comment, the others stared at her and she narrowed her eyes at them. "What? I wouldn't be surprised."

Lisa tapped her chin in thought in response to that.

"Well, I didn't hear they had anything like that. At least permanently." She crossed her arms at Welf. "How does your Vision work anyway?"

"Gotta sit still and look. Depending on complexity, it only takes a couple seconds to...well, basically endless."

The way he hesitated and coughed awkwardly at the end made Lili narrow her eyes at him.

"Did you look at a work from a Goddess or what?"

"My goddess." He chuckled embarrassed and scratched the back of his head. "She told me I started drooling after half an hour. I don't even remember that."

For a moment, Lili wondered what he actually looked at, but then noticed that Bell seemed uneasy for some reason. Lisa saw the same and tapped the rookie on the shoulder. After he jumped a bit, startled at the touch, his senior tilted her head at him.

"Something wrong, Bell?"

"No, it's nothing." He shook his head and shuddered. "Just have the feeling I'm being watched."

The others shared a confused glance. They didn't feel anything and looking around, there was nobody else but them. Before any of them could question him further however, Obsidian walked back to them, hands on his hips as he let out a satisfied grunt when he cracked his neck.

"Well, there is a big ass tower with a great view. Maybe you have a stalker." Clapping his head, he made a quick head motion at them. "Break over, let's do this again."

"Great, now I feel worried about Bell," Lili muttered as she stood up with the others and Bell gave her a flat glare.

"I'm worried about myself as well."

After getting the crap beaten out of them, Obsidian gave them the review and the squad split up, with Obsidian and Lili making their way to their small home.

Oh, and Lisa, for some reason. Lili wasn't one to judge. Maybe she wanted to stay over or something.

Anyway, they reached their home and Lili entered first, letting out a sigh as she took in the familiar air.

Home sweet home.

Throwing her weapon into her room, she was about to enter it to flop down into her bed, when the door closed louder than usual. Turning her head, she opened her mouth to reprimand whoever did that, but when she looked properly, she stopped.

Obsidian stared at Lisa with a raised eyebrow, who seemed awfully serious for some reason. Then, she took a deep breath.

"Lord Noir...wir müssen reden. Notfall," she said in a low tone.

Lili blinked. What the hell was that? Before she could question what that was, Obsidian became serious as well, crossing his arms.

"Der Fakt, dass du deutsch redest reicht mir schon," he stated in a deep growl, voice filled with authority. "Wie schlimm?"

"Krieg könnte ausbrechen, wenn Leute hiervon hören," Lisa replied nervously. Whatever the hell she said made Obsidian scratch his head in irritation and clicking his tongue.

"Okay, erklär mir, was das Problem ist," he ordered her, leaning against the wall with crossed arms. Lisa nodded and bit her lip in thought, struggling with the words.

Lili felt kind of awkward to speak up, but her curiosity at what the hell these two were talking about got the better of her. They didn't speak Koine, so maybe it was a Boundary dialect? Well, whatever it was, Lili didn't know it.

"Uhm..."

Anyway, Lisa and Obsidian jumped at the noise and whipped their heads around to stare at the Pallum with wide eyes. In turn, Lili's mouth thinned.

Did they seriously forget about her?

Anyway, after getting over their initial shock, Obsidian shrugged and gestured for her to come over.

"Eh, whatever. You can hear it too, I guess."

"Swear to secrecy though," Lisa added with a frown and Lili slowly nodded at her seriousness, before sitting down on her chair.

"Alright." She gestured at her ears with a confused expression. "What was that?"

"Boundary's 'secret' language," Obsidian said, making quotation marks with his fingers, before looking around as he scratched his chin, humming in thought. "Since you are here, we gotta do something else..."

"Do you have tags, Lord Noir?" Lisa asked with a finger snap and before Lili could ask what tags were, Obsidian snapped his finger as well, grinning widely.

"More like all of them. I remember the rule book." With that, he hurried to his room and seconds later, he came out again, with bundles of papers in his arms, which had weird markings on them. Spreading them on the table, he looked up at Lisa. "Help me sort this."

Lili squirmed in her chair awkwardly, as the merchant girl helped out their teacher to sort out the papers. She didn't understand the symbols, but she could see that some had the same markings and Lili concluded they did the same as well.

"Sound Nullification...Vision Illusion, Type Calm..." Obsidian began to mutter, as he put the tags on neat stacks one by one. Lisa mimicked him, using different tags.

"Warning System, Protection Charm...Smell Remover..."

"Smell Remover?" Lili couldn't help but ask and Obsidian waved her off as he continued sorting.

"People can smell secrecy and then sniff around." He paused and let out a giggle. "Hehe."

"Think we need Vision Illusion, Type Distraction?" Lisa asked, raising her head as she wiggled with a certain tag and Obsidian shook his head.

"Nah, let's pretend we aren't even in the house anymore. Also, ignore the Protection Charm. We need the room for stealth, not for defense." He let out a breath and put his hands on his hips, as he looked over the sorted stacks, before clapping his hands. "Right, help me tag the room."

"Taking the left side," Lisa announced and took half the tags they needed.

From then on, Lili bit her lip awkwardly, as they put the tags everywhere. As in, floor, windows, door, wall and even the ceiling. It looked chaotic, but there was some pattern, like putting the tags in a cross formation and never too close to each other. Still, this felt rather tacky, so she raised her hand.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked and Lisa sighed, glancing back at her as she tried to reach the upper corner of a wall.

"Believe me. If people find out about this, war can break out." She paused and shuddered. "Best case scenario."

Best case?!

Lili choked and hit her chest to get rid of the coughing. In the meantime, Obsidian dusted his hands off with a satisfied expression.

"Alright...Think we covered everything." Walking over to his chair, he sat down next to the Pallum, while Lisa sat down on the opposite side. "So, got five minutes before these things run off. What's the problem?"

Lisa took a deep breath and bit her lip awkwardly, before sighing and resting her forehead on her right palm.

"It's about Bell's status. It's...very irregular," she began slowly and the house owner raised an eyebrow at that.

"Irregular for normal people or irregular in Boundary standards?" He asked, honestly confused.

"Both, actually." She put her bag on the table and rummaged through it, while her voice dropped in volume, concern filling it. "His growth...is not normal."

Obsidian and Lili raised an eyebrow at each other and then looked back at Lisa. Both thought the same thing.

That was it? Lili expected something like a spell that could raise the dead or a skill that made Bell immortal. But simple stat growth?

"So he got a lot of stats in a short time. And?" Obsidian asked in an incredulous tone and Lili nodded in agreement, crossing her arms.

"He's right. We also grow fast," she stated in disbelief and Lisa let out a loud groan and shook her head.

"Not as fast as him," she hissed at them, making them lean back a bit in surprise.

"That bad?" The Pallum asked and Lisa whipped out two papers from her bag, before slamming them down on the table, the blank side pointing upwards.

"It's been one expedition. He grew at a somewhat normal rate when training with us." She turned the papers on her left and pointed at it, lips pressed together in agitation. "This is his sheet before the expedition."

Lili and Obsidian leaned forward with narrowed eyes. And while Obsidian let out an impressed grunt, Lili was less impressed as she tilted her head.

"Kinda slow," she said, looking at the H in every category aside from magic, except speed, which had a G. However, her teacher shook his head and gave her an unamused look.

"Hey, you're the ones who didn't want him join in our training, so he didn't get the Noir package." He shrugged as he picked up the paper to look over it, an amused smile on his face. "Having H in all areas except magic and a G in speed is pretty impressive for Orario's standards. I mean, people normally take years until they can even reach the upper bounds of their status, not to mention reach a level up." He peeked over the paper at Lili. "You must be intense."

"Well, of course. He wants to catch up and I did my best to do Boundary style training." She giggled and puffed out her chest with pride and clsoed eyes. "He needed more experience with normal stuff before we would throw him at yo-" Her eyes snapped open and she shook her head, smile replaced by a snarl. "That doesn't matter!"

With a whip of her right hand, she turned around the other paper and smacked it down the table.

" _This_ is his sheet after the expedition!" She shouted in anger and while Lili raised her hands to placate her, sweat running down her forehead, Obsidian leaned forward to look at the data.

Then he froze and the Pallum could swore he gulped before he gaped at the status paper.

"Sweet baby Jesus," he whispered and rubbed his eyes, before pushing his face closer to the paper, as if he was worried his eyes were damaged. Lili let out a confused noise, before rolling her eyes and pushed her teacher away to see what the fuss was about.

Her mouth crashed down like a bird shot by an arrow and she could only let out choked noises.

C and B. His stats reached Cs in everything, except magic of course, and speed, which had a B rank.

Bell Cranel was an adventurer for about two weeks.

This fact, combined with the stats, made Lili whip her head at her friend, face filled with disbelief as she slowly pointed at the cursed piece of paper.

"I don't know what a Jesus is, but I concur," she said faintly and jabbed her finger at it again. "Are you sure Lady Hestia didn't mistake her letters?"

"She triple checked," Lisa confirmed in a somber tone and sighed, rubbing her forehead in agitation. "Bell was starting to get a bit suspicious."

Obsidian clicked his tongue, while Lili tried to process the information, eyes blank as she leaned against her chair.

"Son of a bitch, you were right. This is insane, even for us," her teacher commented and shook his head as he held the paper in front of his face.

"Hey, maybe it's normal for level ones to improve that fast when they are on an expedition to the Lower Levels..." The Pallum said with a weak fake smile, but Obsidian's blank face made her flinch as he calmly put the paper back on the table, removing the smile like a level five would a goblin.

"Lili," he said in a neutral voice, hands folded. "If that were the case, Loki would have more level two adventurers than Rakia since a year or two." Then his face morphed into a frown of disbelief as he spread his arms open and his voice increased in volume "And Rakia is a fucking country!"

Lili scratched her cheek awkwardly. Well, her teacher had a point. Still, she noticed something. Judging from the way Obsidian was freaking out a bit...

"So your goddess doesn't have anything to do with this?" The Pallum asked with a frown and he shook his head, staring at the table in thought.

"Too much in too little time. Not Gaia's style," he muttered and the two girls immediately straightening up their backs.

"Gaia?" Lisa asked quietly and Obsidian's eyes opened wide before he groaned in irritation. Then, he gave them a glare.

"Don't tell anyone."

The two of them nodded. Not like they had any reason to name drop his goddess. They didn't know her and all that. Anyway, back to explaining the apparent genetic freak that was Bell.

"Wait a minute," their teacher said, snapping his finger at the paper. "Skill section. This might explain it."

Lisa's eyes widened and she slapped her forehead.

"Right!" She groaned at her own forgetfulness. "Lady Hestia told me that she would erase it from her daily updates because it would be too dangerous to see..."

Immediately, the three of them looked back on the paper, eyes focused on the skill section. All of them narrowed their eyes at it.

"Liaris Freese...Grows faster with intense emotions..." Lili muttered and looked up at the others. "What does that even mean?"

They shared confused glances, eyes moving left and right. But then, at the same time, they slowly widened, as realization dawned at them and then disbelief filled their expressions.

"We are not actually considering this, are we?" The Pallum asked into the round and the other two were uncomfortably silent. Then, her teacher chuckled nervously.

"Well, the power of love is very present in a lot of books nowadays," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you kidding me?!" She yelled and threw her arms in the air, before slamming her head into the table. She could easily reconstruct how Bell's skill came to existence.

Bell Cranel had a crush on Aiz Wallenstein. That much was obvious. But in the dungeon, he could properly see how strong she was. In his belief, he could never be together with Aiz or be called a hero or an adventurer if he didn't reach her level. But he wasn't patient enough to wait a decade or two. People needed help now, he wanted to be next to her now and thus...A skill that boosted his growth based on these emotions.

It was as ridiculous as it sounded. And the thought made her heart burn.

How utterly unfair.

"Should we tell him?" Lili asked as she raised her head a bit, chin still on the table. But Obsidian shook his head frantically.

"It's bad enough we know about it, this shit is the kind of knowledge people kill for." He crossed his arms with a frown. "Besides, what if knowing negates that skill?"

Lili and Lisa bit their lips. Right. If he knew all of his growth was due to being lucky and having a skill? He would totally be the kind of person who thought he didn't deserve any of this and thus, force his skill to stop working.

"Right...I'm not that petty to take it away from him," the Pallum muttered. At the somber mood, Lisa slapped her cheeks all of a sudden and slammed her hands on the table.

"Hey, give him more props!" She twirled with her right hand. "Sure, he talked about getting girls and has a crush on Aiz, but come on! We know that isn't everything!"

"Seeing Riveria and the others spurred his drive for becoming a hero?" Obsidian nodded to himself. "Yeah, that could be it too."

"Or a combination of all. I mean, this says emotions. Doesn't say it's limited to only one," Lili added thoughtfully and that made her feel less jealous about the whole thing. Emotions always were a big part of growing. Bell only grew faster. No big deal. She just had to work harder to make sure she could stay ahead or keep up.

"Either way, we are going to have a monster at our hands in short time," Obsidian said quietly as he buried his face in his hands. Lili stared at him with worry.

"Why do you sound so concerned?" She asked and he let out a dry snort and looked up with a sad smile.

"Because I just know that life is a bitch. Having a guy like Bell exist with this skill?" He shuddered and shook his head as he closed his eyes. "That usually means something is going to happen that warrants that."

Lili froze at the words and her mind went crazy. What could be created to counter Bell? A monster growing just as fast? A monster naturally as strong? Someone else with the same skill, only with less heroic intentions? The possibilities were endless.

For a while, they sat there in silence. However, Lisa clapped her hands loudly, done with the current mood and forced a smile at them.

"By the way, the festival is in two days. Are you going to be free?"

Festival. Right, there was something like that, Lili noted. Monster Feria, where the Ganesha Family would make a show out of taming monsters. It sounded fun, actually and would help a lot of relaxing after this topic.

When she and her teacher nodded after hesitating for a moment, the merchant daughter giggled happily.

"That's great! We can all go together!"

"Meet up at the fountain?" Obsidian asked, smiling as well.

"Sure!" Lisa's smile fell and she pointed at the papers. "But remember, this is a secret."

"Naturally," Obsidian replied while Lili flinched at the topic change and took the papers in his hands. "Let's burn this paper and use the ashes as fertilizer."

"Fertilizer for what? You don't have plants," Lili stated with a raised eyebrow and Obsidian paused. Then, he gave Lisa the status sheets.

"Take them with you then. Hestia can probably sell the ashes for a couple valis."

"She isn't that poor anymore!" Lisa objected loudly and the group shared a laugh.

* * *

 **History Returns 9.2**

Lili lived a long time in Orario, but the sight of the streets during a festival always made her stare in awe for a moment. It was like a different world.

A good mood filled the streets, as people wandered through the streets. Some looked like they were only here for the festival itself and vendors took this chance to make a major profit. Food stalls, discounts on weapons, the occasional con artist here and there...Not to mention the many couples and families just having a fun time as they strolled through their day. Some adventurers Lili occasionally saw when she was in the guild even cleaned themselves up just for this occasion, either because it was their free day or because they wanted to impress someone.

Lili felt a bit out of place, wearing her usual coat, but she felt more comfortable wearing this when going through the streets. Besides, it was stylish enough for her.

Well, enough staring. She had to meet up with the others. The fountain was close by and she could already see the bouncing twin tails of a familiar goddess, as she waved her arms around while trying to be seen over the bigger people around her.

"Hey, guys!" She yelled when she got close enough and waved her own arm. It surprised her a bit, that nobody of them cleaned themselves up, wearing the stuff they usual wear sans armor. But, she wasn't one to judge and instead slapped hands with Lisa.

"Sup, Lili!" The merchant daughter said with a wide grin. Lili looked around, nodding at the rest of the Hestia family, before raising an eyebrow.

"Welf not here?" She asked, crossing her arms and Lisa casually waved with her hand.

"He decided to work at the forge today. I recommended it to him."

"Why?" The Pallum asked in an incredulous tone and Lisa leaned back on the fountain, having her merchant smirk on her face.

"Celebration equals tourists and improves shopping mood. Therefore, selling stuff today is more profitable than usual."

Awkward chuckles filled the air. They knew the girl, but Lisa's merchant sense was extreme, sometimes bordering at obsession. Still, that begged one question as Lili crossed her arms.

"Why aren't you working then?" She asked and the merchant in question shrugged.

"Eh, my dad can handle it and I promised to spent time with the best goddess and captain in the world." A sly grin appeared on her face, before she covered her mouth with her right hand. "Besides, I heard his goddess was the only person stuck at their forge, so I decided to play wingman. Also, I managed to sell him some blacksmith stuff."

While the latter was something Lili could totally see her doing, the former made her leery. Because of that, she sighed as she pinched her forehead.

"What is it with people and romancing others?" She muttered annoyed and the blonde patted her on the back.

"One day, you will know the joy of shipping." She glanced at her captain with an innocent smile. "Right, Bell?"

The rookie in turn blinked and slowly nodded in confusion.

"Uhm, I guess?"

"Lisa, remember our agreement?" Hestia mumbled with a pout for some reason and her first child winked at her, hugging the smaller goddess from behind as she rested her head on Hestia's hair.

"Sure, I help everyone," she replied in a happy tone and giggled with her goddess, as she rubbed her face against her head.

Lili meanwhile shuddered and blinked furiously before shaking her head.

Yeah, she was done. That was her cue to change topics.

"Anyway!" She clapped her hands together and looked into the round, nodding when Lisa and Hestia separated. "Bete tried to apologize to me and I was supposed to extend it to you."

At the mention of Bete, the mood soured amongst Lili's friend. Looking down on the ground, mouth thinning, a snarl from Lisa even, it was obvious that the werewolf was not very liked with the Hestia family. Nevertheless, Bell tilted his head when he processed the Pallum's words.

"Tried?"

Lili in turn giggled at the memory, covering her smirk with her right hand.

"He coughed up blood when he reached 'so'. I took pity and told him he didn't have to force himself."

The group stared at her in disbelief, mouths half open.

"Is being an asshole ingrained in his blood?" Lisa commented dryly, breaking the short silence that occurred. While Hestia let out an amused snort, Bell coughed awkwardly. Lili on the other hand shrugged casually.

"Sounds like it." Then, she grinned and put her hands on her hips, motioning with her head at the trio. "So, shall we?"

With that said, the group made their way through the streets to enjoy the festival. Most of the time they were window shopping, looking at weapon, clothes or other interesting stuff. However, Lili noticed to which stands they went the most and it made her sigh.

Food.

Every second place they stopped by had something to do with cheap food. The Pallum wasn't sure if she should be amazed or annoyed at how the Hestia family hunted down discounts like a starving dog after meat. Well, she guessed it was somewhat endearing.

Anyway, considering they stopped at yet another food stall, Lili took this opportunity to do some small talk. Most of the times she stayed quiet while the family enjoyed themselves, but she decided to socialize a bit more. Seeing that Lisa was busy poking Bell in a teasing manner, she decided to go after the goddess who had her back turned to Lili.

"Lady Hestia. How are you?" She asked in a respectful tone. When Hestia turned around, it was difficult not to laugh at the goddess, whose cheeks were full with fresh baked bread.

Ditzy looking goddess or not, they deserved respect and Hestia was more likeable than Soma. Even when she looked like a wide eyes squirel as she tried to munch her food faster than before, trying to swallow it.

Biting her inner cheek, Lili could proudly say she maintained her poker face. Her teacher would be proud.

Anywho, food gone into her body, Hestia nodded happily, twintails bouncing among other things, and clapped her hands together in front of her.

"I'm great!" She threw her arms up in the air, as drool ran down her mouth. "Cheap food everywhere, it's like a dream coming true!"

Not exactly what Lili was asking, but the girl nodded with a polite smile nonetheless, withholding any comments she felt spawning in her head. She blamed Obsidian for that.

"I actually meant at your home," she said in small amusement and Hestia blinked at that.

"Oh." She quickly recovered and put her hands on her hips, closing her eyes with a smile. "Well, I managed to make my home quite...homey! With the help from my children of course." Nodding to herself, she held a fist in front of herself and opened her eyes, which were filled with a strong fire. "Hm, hm! No longer am I the poor goddess everyone laughs at! Soon, I will have a church basement everyone will be jealous of! And everyone will hear my name as they buy the products of my child!"

Lili sweatdropped at Hestia's behavior.

Was she a goddess or a merchant?

Hestia looked around and grinned widely as she spotted something, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Speaking of products!"

Before the goddess could take another step forward to a stall with lots of meatballs, a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. As she yelped, Hestia turned around with an objection about to leave her mouth, when she froze.

Lisa smiled at her, but her eyes screamed "Don't even think about it". Obediently, the goddess lowered her head like a sad puppy and Bell petted her back with a pitying smile.

After a while, Lisa sighed and the group began to move again, after she made it clear there was nothing to be bought in this area.

"Another reason I'm here. Protecting my goddess from scams." She glanced at Lili and tilted her head. "Where is Lord Noir?"

"He said he would catch up later, saying he needs to do some jobs first," the Pallum replied with a shrug. Then, she snapped her fingers as she remembered something. "Speaking of which, you guys have anything against meeting up with Aiz, Tiona and Lefiya?"

As soon as she dropped the first name, the reactions were immediate. Bell blushed, but looked happy. Hestia's face dropped into a deep frown. And Lisa smirked teasingly before shrugging, pretending not to care.

Lili's mouth thinned. Oh, great. She forgot about this Pandora's Box of drama. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away on its own.

"No, not really," Lisa exclaimed loudly and threw her arms around her family with a wide grin. Then she glanced at them. "You guys have a problem?"

"N-not at all!" Bell immediately shouted with a smile. At the same time Hestia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Then, she managed to put up a polite smile.

"Why should I?" Then she clapped her hands together and made a dramatic gasp. "Oh, before I forget!"

Almost too enthusiastic, the goddess rummaged around her pockets and then held an item far above her head, as if she was presenting some sort of trophy.

"Tada!"

Then, she presented it to Bell and the other three leaned forward to take a closer look. All of them blinked.

It was a knife inside a black sheath. The handle was black as well.

"Sorry, I couldn't get it before your expedition," the goddess said with a soft smile and giggled as she pressed the weapon into Bell's hands. "But hey, better later than never, right?"

The rookie took the knife in his hands and stared at it with hestitation. Then, he took a deep breath and unsheathed it in one go.

Lili, just like the others, gaped at it.

It was beautiful. That was the first thought that ran through the Pallum's head. A shining, black blade, with a single, sharp edge, that had a lighter color. Dark grey, she would theorize. However, what caught her attention were the symbols on the knife. At the cutting edge and on the inside, runes decorated the blade and the moment Bell put his hands on them, they began to glow. Lili was no magic expert, but even she could feel the power radiating from it, as if it had its own blessing.

After what felt like an eternity, Bell raised his head in disbelief.

"What…?" He trailed off, before looking back at the knife in his right hand, as if to double check it actually existed. Hestia in turn giggled and gave him a soft smile.

"It grows with you. You become stronger, it will become stronger, as it is tied to your Blessing. The weapon is perfect for the one who will become the best adventurer." Her smile widened and she threw her right index finger into the air, while her left hand was on her hip. "The Hestia Knife!"

That name sounded stupid, but Lili felt that saying that out loud would land her with a crying goddess and she was not in the mood for that.

Anywho, Bell choked back a sob and hugged his goddess, who accepted it with much pleasure as she patted him on the head. They stayed like this for a while, but then a cough interrupted them. Separating, they and Lili turned to the source of the sound.

And immediately, they paled.

"Lady Hestia. How much did this cost?" Lisa managed to ask in the flattest tone she could manage, a tone she usually reserved for bad business actions. Lili only saw it once in action, when she witnessed some merchant trying to scam New Age.

She never saw that merchant again. Because of that, the Pallum, like Hestia and Bell, was quite nervous as she took a step back.

Anyway, the goddess gulped, before giggling nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"Eh, you know...a bit," she said, averting her eyes. But Lisa was having none of that. Grabbing her goddess' face, she pulled her close, foreheads almost touching, and stared her dead in the eyes.

"Hestia," she growled with narrowed eyes and Lili could hear Bell let out a whimper as Hestia's eyes widened that the honorific was skipped on this one. "Tell me the number."

"Two hundred," the goddess instantly let out meekly, not daring to move a single muscle. In turn, Lisa managed to narrow her eyes even more.

"Two hundred what?" She asked in a cold tone and Hestia took a deep breath, before closing her eyes in fear.

"...Million?" She whispered, before carefully opening her right eye. Naturally, she recoiled, managing to escape Lisa's grip, as she saw exactly what Lili saw.

A completely pale and frozen face filled with shock.

"Lisa? You okay?" The Pallum asked and snapped her fingers in front of the empty eyes. For a moment, the merchant girl did not react.

However, that didn't last long.

Soon enough, the shielder let out a loud gasp and her legs shook, before they completely gave in as her breath began to become frantic. Immediately, Lili jumped behind her to catch her.

"Whoa there!" She exclaimed and the other two of the Hestia Family frantically surrounded Lisa, fanning her air or giving her words of encouragements as they dragged her over to a nearby bench, near a weapons shop. At the same time, Lisa's eyes almost rolled up as she continued to hyperventilate. When it went on for couple of minutes, gaining the attention of bystanders, Lili was worried that her friend would suffer brain damage from the lack of oxygen she was suffering.

Luckily, Lisa managed to calm herself somehow and was in the middle of drinking lots of water. By then, the bystanders finally left. Letting out a satisfied breath, she whipped her head at her goddess with a disbelieving glare.

"Down on the ground," she declared in a flat tone and the head of the family meekly nodded, before going down on her knees in front of three adventurers, who were sitting on the bench. The supporter took a deep breath with closed eyes, nodding a few times.

Then her eyes snapped open with unholy fury.

"Holy inflation, what?! Two hundred million?!" She yelled, leaning forward as her hands shot up in the air, and Hestia flinched at the volume.

"What were you thinking? I appreciate the weapon, but using so much money for it..." Bell muttered before the goddess could defend herself and she looked like someone jammed a dagger in her heart. However, she shook her head and put up a brave smile for her children.

"Don't worry, I'll work it off!" She declared with her hands on her hips. Sadly, it did not reassure her family at all.

"This makes it worse!" The captain countered with a frown and spread his arms open. "We are a family and family shares its burden!"

While Lisa nodded in agreement, her words were less altruistic.

"Also, a family doesn't take on a gigantic loan for a fancy weapons!" She hissed at her. Hestia stayed silent for a while, before giggling nervously.  
"I could make Hephaestus make you one too-"

"Not the point!" Lisa immediately interrupted and furiously clawed at her hair. "Argh, why is my family so bad with money? First Bell with reading that Grimoire, now you!"

Lili stilled at the words as Bell flinched and turned her head at the shielder.

"Grimoire?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Lisa let out a dry laugh.

"Yes." She threw her thumb to her right. "This genius over here decided to pick up a random book he found in New Age and decided to read it before we could determine whose book it was or what that book was about." She snapped her fingers with a dry look. "And boom, he learned magic and the thing became useless."

Suffice to say, Bell's head was as red as it was when he talked to Aiz and that was saying something. Lili gave him a pitying look, before turning back to her female friend.

"So...what did you do?" She asked, tilting her head. In turn, Lisa let out an evil giggle.

"We didn't have any records that it was delivered to us, so someone must have forgotten it." She smirked at the Pallum. "Therefore, if that someone comes for it, we pretend it never existed."

That...sounded incredibly illegal, Lili thought dryly. And she approved, worst of all. Maybe it was her old life seeping in, but she didn't care right now.

"I still feel this is a bad thing," Bell muttered as he stared at the ground, but straightened up his back when his senior's head whipped back at him.

"Bell, if we were super rich, I would agree with you! But since we are not, that is the objectively best thing we can do!" She threw her arms up in the air in an agitated manner, as she glared at her goddess. "But now it's meaningless, since we are drowning in debt anyway!"

While Hestia bit her lip, she still managed to look back at Lisa with determination.

"Don't you worry about it! You can keep earning your own money and I work it off!" She declared with her right hand on her chest. But Lisa was not moved as she stared at the goddess in disbelief, shaking her head slowly.

"Hestia, you work at New Age!" She yelled after a small pause and Hestia wavered at that, understandably.

It would have been the same as Lisa's father Gustav paying for the debt.

"I could get more jobs?" Hestia suggested weakly, but recoiled when Lisa slapped her forehead with a groan.

"That's not the issue!" She exclaimed after letting her hand fall and jabbed her finger at Hestia's forehead. "Having debt is bad for reputation! Bad reputation means no new members! No new members means no cash to pay off that debt! You put us into a vicious cycle!"

"I-I'm sorry..." Hestia muttered, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared down on her lap. Lisa's gaze softened up a bit and she closed her eyes with a deep breath.

"Ugh..." Her head lightly hit the wall behind them and she covered her eyes with her hands. "Someone change the topic please, I will break my head on how to fix this another day..."

Lili was all to willing to follow that order. Without missing a beat, Lili forced a grin on her face and looked at Bell, who stared at his goddess with pity.

"What magic did you learn?" The Pallum asked and the captain blinked for a moment, processing the sudden shift. But then he latched onto the chance to change the atmosphere and forced himself to smile as well.

"It's called Firebolt. It's a fast cast fire lightning magic, according to the description," he explained and a deep grunt sounded in an acknowledging manner.

"Sounds neat," a deep voice said casually. "Tried it out yet?"

Bell it turn scratched his cheek with a chuckle.

"Didn't have the time to go to the dungeon yet. Lisa said it would be safer than setting something on fire."

Lisa let out a grunt in turn and the deep voice hummed at the answer.

"Sounds reasonable," the man replied and Lili had to agree. The dungeon was pretty much the best place to train magic. Even the wall would have been too dan-

Wait a goddamn second.

Everyone's eyes snapped open and they all whipped their heads around to the fifth person in the conversation. Though the only one who had to turn her head was Hestia, because Obsidian stood right behind her.

Naturally, the goddess squealed and jumped into Bell's arm, who let out an even higher pitched squeal. Then Obsidian squealed back, with his face not changing from the neutral way it was. Lili and Lisa immediately burst out in laughter, followed by Hestia and Bell after getting over their initial scare. Obsidian shook his head in amusement after he stopped.

Anyway, once they all calmed down, wiping tears of their eyes, Lisa grinned at their teacher.

"Lord Noir! Where did you come from?" She asked politely and Obsidian shrugged nonchalantly.

"Been here the whole time actually, waiting for you to notice me," he said with a smug undertone and Lili rolled her eyes at that.

"Someone should put a bell on you..." She muttered. To her surprise, her teacher tilted his head.

"Why should I let him on my shoulders?" He asked in confusion, pointing at the captain of the Hestia family and Lili narrowed her eyes at him.

"What? No, I sai-" She stopped as realization dawned and gave Obsidian an unamused stare. "Haha."

He grinned lazily and when the other two adventurers realized what Lili realized, Lisa groaned and Bell chuckled respectively.

Hestia on the other hand, whipped her head around in confusion, still sitting on her captain's lap.

"Huh?" Then her eyes widened and she hit her right fist in her left palm. "Oh, because his name is Bell! Good one!"

Immediately, Obsidian's smile fell.

"You ruined the joke by explaining it," he said annoyed and rolled his eyes, before looking at Bell. "Anywho, want some pointers?"

The rookie opened his mouth to reply, but the shielder beat him to it as she snapped her arm up.

"Later. First, I need to consider murdering my family for endangering our budget!" She said in a happy tone that made the rest of her family shiver. Then, she glanced at Hestia. "Also, you can go off him now."

In response, Hestia hugged Bell with a pout, pressing him against her assets.

"Don't wanna. Too comfortable."

"Fair enough," Lisa shrugged and Lili heard Bell sigh.

"Don't I get a say in this…?" He asked weakly, not even trying to put energy into it, which told Lili a lot more about their family life than she ever wanted to know.

After deleting it from her mind, she noticed that he still stared at Bell. Or to be exact, at the blade that was still in his hands.

Then he pointed at it.

"I'll pay for the knife," he said in a neutral tone and the others stared at him in silence, blinking as they processed the information.

Then, Hestia jumped off Bell and put her hands on her hips in disapproval.

"I cannot possible let you-HMPH!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lisa's arm whipped out in a flash, before covering Hestia's mouth. Then, she dragged her back to the bench, making the goddess sit on her lap, while hugging her.

Thought from Lili's view, it looked more like a choke hold. Actually, judging from the flailing arms weakening in intensity, that was definitely a choke hold.

"She cannot possible let you NOT pay for this!" The merchant girl exclaimed loudly, money signs in her eyes. Hestia let out a muffled scream, her struggling intensifying again, but to no avail. Bell however, was not as restricted, as he stood up and frowned at Lisa.

"Lisa!"

Unfazed by her cute captain's objection, she stared at him with pleading eyes.

"Who gets money for free?!" She screamed in desperation and freed up her left arm to point at Bell's Hestia Knife. "We can get rid of the stupid loan right here, right now! Please!"

Before things could escalate, all three of the Hestia family got bonked on the head in a blink of an eye. It didn't even hurt them, but it startled them enough to make them stop freaking out.

"Chill. Deep breaths," Obsidian ordered, hands behind his back. After they did so, the teacher nodded in approval "We good? Good." Clapping his hands together, he pointed at them. "Back on topic. In exchange for paying for the knife, Boundary wants to reverse engineer this thing. It's a long term project, so don't worry about losing the weapon or something."

The group blinked at that.

Lili did expect that it wouldn't be completely altruistic, but reverse engineering it? He wanted to recreate this divine artifact? Well, it certainly did sound like something that was worth paying two hundred million valis, but…

Lili frowned.

Last she heard, Boundary only had four people with blessings, Obsidian included, so it kinda sounded a bit wasted. Because of that, Lili raised her hand.

"Why?" She asked and her teacher chuckled at the question.

"I can already tell that this weapon can cut into a minotaur if Bell reaches the high ends of his status."

Everyone's eyes widened at that. It was common knowledge that level one adventurers and with that level one equipment would not even scratch a minotaur. That the veteran believed the Hestia Knife could damage a monster like that was mind boggling. But Obsidian wasn't done playing with their imagination.

"Now imagine Aiz with such a weapon."

His statement and wide grin sent shivers down Lili's spine and she could tell the others reacted in a similar manner. If the knife and similar weapons would escalate in proportion to the way levels escalated...She could barely imagine what the Sword Princess would be able to pull off.

Anywho, Obsidian nodded in approval when the implications settled in and then shook his head with crossed arms as he laughed lightly.

"Yeah, my sister is going to flood her laboratory when I tell her," he said with a wistful sigh and Lili could sense a bit of home sickness from him. Before she could ask him about it, Bell raised his hand, tilting his head in confusion.

"Why would it be flooding?" He asked innocently and Lili nodded, not getting it either.

For some reason, Hestia and Lisa blushed all of a sudden and averted their eyes. The former played around with her twin tails, while Lisa whistled as she looked up in the sky. Lili shared a glance with Bell, who looked equally confused.

Weird.

Obsidian stared at them blankly, before nodding slowly.

"Because of tears of joy," he deadpanned and the two older women's blush intensified yet again. Lili tilted her head. What did they think he meant? Well, Bell wasn't bothered by it, nodding in understanding, so she shouldn't make a big deal out of this herself.

"Ah, I see." Bell scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well...I guess if it helps your country, it would be a fair change?"

He looked at the other two of his family. Hestia stood up from her first child and sighed, but nodded with a soft smile. Lisa on the other hand nodded more frantic and Lili could swear there were tears in her eyes.

"Neat," Obsidian said with a grunt, before turning his head around to his right. Raising his finger, he pointed into the direction he was looking. "Speaking of Aiz, there she is with the others."

Lili groaned when Bell froze and his head became red like a tomato again, while at the same time Hestia grit her teeth.

Oh boy, here they go again.

* * *

 **History Returns 9.3**

The moment they saw Aiz approaching, chaos ensured in form of Bell freaking the fuck out. As usual. At first, it was cute, but by now Lili was just done with it. Luckily for him, Lisa put her hands on his shoulders before the Pallum could deck the rookie. Turning his face towards her, the merchant girl frowned at him as he almost hyperventilated as much as Lisa did only minutes before.

"Bell, remember your training," his senior said calmly, but Bell only stared at her in disbelief.

"How does stabbing a knife properly help me here?!" He yelled after a small pause. Lisa in turn gaped at him for just a moment, before she slapped him lightly on the right side with a frown.

"Not that training!" She hissed at him. Bell blinked for a few times at that, uncomprehendingly.

"Oh," he let out, before closing his eyes, face still flushed. "One, two, three...deep breaths..." He nodded in determination when he opened his eyes again. "Okay, I'm ready."

"No, you're not," Obsidian instantly denied, with the other girls nodding in agreement. Then, he gave the red boy a thumbs up. "But points for effort."

While the boy whimpered at that, Lili rolled her eyes before turning around to the incoming group, putting on her best friendly smile as she waved at them. Tiona spotted her first and literally bounced to her direction as she waved as well, followed by Aiz and Lefiya, who were more moderate with their walking and waving.

Anyway, Lili was prepared when the amazon jumped at her and braced herself as she caught the petite girl, spinning around so that she wouldn't fall down on her back. Giggling with Tiona for a moment, she let go and nodded at the other two girls, who arrived.

"Guys! Glad you could make it!" Lili said with her hands on her hips and grinned at them. "Hope there weren't any issues or something."

Tiona waved her hand dismissively, before throwing her right arm around Aiz.

"Eh, only problem we had were getting her away from the food stalls."

Aiz in turn pouted a bit at the comment. Lili heard a small squeal behind her, but she ignored it and smirked at the Sword Princess.

"Potatoes again?" She asked knowingly and Aiz crossed her arms, pout intensifying.

"They are the best food," she said in a defying tone and the girls giggled at her behavior, sans Hestia, who still glared at Aiz and the other Loki children.

Anywho, Tiona was the first to calm down and decided to turn to the other family with a joyful nod and with her hands on her hips.

"Lady Hestia, Shield Girl, Rabbit," she addressed each of them with a wide grin. Hestia in response gave a cordial bow herself, with a neutral expression. Bell and Lisa on the other hand both crossed their arms with a frown, though the former looked more like he was pouting.

"It's Merchant Girl, thank you very much," Lisa replied in a clear voice, though Lili was half sure that her friend was somewhat joking.

"I'm not a rabbit..."

Bell on the other hand was completely serious with his muttering, which made it harder to not laugh. The amazon had no such restrictions and giggled at their antics.

Well, this was only somewhat awkward, Lili thought dryly. Maybe some walking would help with this.

"Let's keep moving, or we will cause a traffic jam," she announced loudly and motioned with her head at the crowd around them. "We are blocking the street. Kinda"

"Any plans?" The amazon asked in an easy going way and Lili shrugged in turn.

"Meh, let's just walk around."

Everyone nodded, not having any better ideas and with that they moved on through the streets. After the first few minutes, small groups spawned in their big group, as in everyone had at least one person to talk to.

Lisa chatted up Tiona, though it looked more like the former was trying to grab money from the amazon by giving her lots of offers, half of them completely useless. Worst of all, it was actually working, since Tiona already gleefully accepted some "premium" packages, even though they were normal products dressed up in fancy boxes. Maybe she did it for the boxes? Lili didn't know.

Aiz conversed with Obsidian, probably about the teaching thing she mentioned. The Pallum couldn't hear what they were saying, but judging from Aiz' pouting face, barely visible but there, her teacher seemed to have rejected her, most likely because of her level and thus not really having a need to train with him.

Meanwhile, Lili herself stayed silent, like Hestia, Bell and Lefiya were. The latter two were busy staring at the Sword Princess with dreamy eyes and a small blush, unaware of their surroundings. It was surprising they didn't crash into others or something. The goddess on the other hand looked peeved, her face switching from her own child over to the ace of Loki's family with a frown.

Not wanting to deal with that, Lili decided to sharpen her ears in order to listen what her teacher was talking with Aiz.

"...don't really see the need for that. Unless I spar with you in a proper way, you won't get anything out of this," her teacher stated in a bored manner, waving with his hand. However, Aiz was not so easily shoved away and she crossed her arms with narrowed eyes.

"Then spar with me," she said, sounding more like a demand than a request. A fire burned in her eyes, but it didn't faze Obsidian at all, as he shook his head with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, so out of form, you wouldn't get a proper challenge."

The fire died out almost instantly as the Sword Princess blinked. But then, she sighed and nodded with a small frown.

"If you get back in form, will you accept my request?" She asked with a soft tone and the teacher shrugged nonchalantly.

"Probably. Maybe should talk with your goddess first."

Aiz smiled softly at his words, nodding in gratitude. However, before she could say anything more, Lefiya decided to shake her daze off and shyly raise her hand.

"Speaking of which..." When everyone turned to her, she fidgeted a little, but she took a deep breath and carried on. "Are you sure Lady Loki would be okay with this?" She wiggled with her right hand, biting her lip. "I mean, the celebrations I can understand, but are...interfamily activities not frowned upon?"

Lili blinked at the words and frowned like the others.

Right, that was a thing, wasn't it? Usually families did their own thing and kept interactions with other families to a minimum. That included training with others as well. Her arrangement with Obsidian and her team was one of the few exceptions Lili knew of. Anymore, and there could be some problems, even if Loki was nice. At least reputation wise, not that Lili understood the workings exactly.

Well, whatever the specifics were, Hestia did not give a damn as she scoffed and crossed her arms with a frown.

"Pah, Flat Chest can come to me if she wants to complain. It's just training anyway, so what's the harm?" She laughed and put her hands on her hips, puffing up her chest with a wide, playful grin. "She really should be more open with her children, like me! You should tell her that, little elf! Maybe then you don't have to worry about interfamily stuff!"

Lili immediately shared a dry glance with Lisa, who slowly nodded. The Pallum in turn sighed. Yup, as she thought. It took the first child to convince her goddess that family interaction with Loki was not a sin.

Anywho, as the others stared at the goddess in confusion, Lefiya blinked, before her eyes moved over Hestia, from top to bottom. Then she pouted a bit.

"I'm bigger than you..." She muttered, rightly so. She had like twenty or so centimeters on the goddess, so Lili thought it was a bit disrespectful to address the elf like that.

Not that Hestia cared much, as she wiggled her finger while shaking her head with a smug expression.

"Not where it counts!" For some reason however, her smile fell, as a glare replaced her expression and Hestia leaned forward, jabbing her finger at the elf, then at the other Loki members sans Lili. "However! Don't think about getting too chummy with my kids. I know what you guys did." She whipped her head around at the Sword Princess."Especially you, Whatstein!"

The group instantly came to a stop.

The Pallum bit her lip, remembering what the goddess was referring to and hoped not to get reminded by it too early. The others, except her teacher, who was indifferent, showed their discomfort as well. Averting their gaze, clearing their throat awkwardly, biting their lip, sweating, all of that happened in the group.

However, to Lili's surprise it was Aiz who shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Wallenstein," she politely corrected the goddess, before bowing deeply at her. "And I apologize for what happened. If I can make it up, please tell me."

Silence reigned in the group, as they stared at the Sword Princess with wide eyes.

"Awkward," Obsidian said with a raised eyebrow after a while, breaking the silence between them. Instantly, Lili gave her fa-teacher a glare.

"No shit," she commented dryly and caused some light giggling among the group. The smug face from the bandaged man made her glare even more intense.

Anywho, Hestia was taken aback by the apology, and she struggled to come up with words that were not chiding or something like that.

"Err..." She looked around, trying to find a proper answer. In the end, she coughed awkwardly and blushed as she puffed out her chest with closes eyes. "W-well, I-I guess I can leave you with a warning!" She opened one eye and everyone could tell that her confidence was faked as hell. "But next time, I won't be so lenient!"

Aiz in turn smiled softly and nodded in gratitude. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief when the atmosphere stopped being so oppressive. Anyway, before Lili could mentally comment about the fact that Bell and Lefiya stared at the Sword Princess with worshiping eyes, Lisa clapped her hands loudly and smiled brightly at the group.

"Let's split up. Less of a hassle to move through the crowds and I think we need to give each other some...air." She giggled awkwardly, but pressed on as she crossed her arms. "We can switch it up in an hour or so. Sounds good?"

Tiona was the one to react first, humming in thought as she tapped her chin.

"Hm, better to interact with each other as well." Crossing her arms behind her head, she grinned. "I'm game."

Looking around, she saw agreements, or indifference in Obsidian's case, and she personally didn't really care either. The day wasn't even close to over yet and focusing on so many people at once was tiring for her.

"So, I think we should split this up into families first," the merchant girl proposed and gestured towards her own family. "Bell, Lady Hestia, with me. The others, go in one group."

Instantly, the goddess threw her arms in the air with a wide smirk, before anyone could object.

"Haha, take that, Watteltein!" She shouted and pointed her finger at the Sword Princess victoriously, before hugging Bell's arm. The rookie in turn blushed furiously, whether by the breasts or by his goddess' behavior, Lili didn't know.

"Wallenstein," Aiz politely corrected yet again and Lili had the feeling a running gag was born. Glancing at the others and seeing them smile awkwardly and sweat at the show, they thought the same.

Anywho, nodding happily, the first child of the Hestia family turned around to Bell and Hestia.

"Come on, guys! I just know where we can get the best discounts!"

"Music to my ears!" The goddess exclaimed and put her arms around her children with a wide grin. "Bell, you brought the bags, right?"

"Three like you asked!" The captain said in a dutiful tone, pulling said bags out of somewhere. The girls laughed and the trio moved away from the Loki family plus Obsidian.

"Let's hoard as much as we can!"

Looking at the retreating backs of the other family, Lili blinked. Glancing at the others, they stared at them with similar confused stares.

To paraphrase her teacher...that was awkward.

Naturally, Aiz did not care for such awkwardness and instead turned to the group, tilting her head.

"Why does Lady Hestia keep mispronouncing my name?" She asked innocently and Lili chuckled lightly before waving her hand in front of herself.

"Reasons."

The others laughed a little as well, leaving Aiz confused as she frowned slightly, before they decided to move into the opposite direction the Hestia family went.

Anyway, soon after they started walking, Tiona giggled awkwardly.

"The Hestia family are a bit too obsessed with saving up money, aren't they?" She asked in amusement and Obsidian shrugged in response.

"The family consists of two members, goddess not counted. Not like they have a lot of money to throw around."

Yet the goddess bought a super expensive knife, Lili thought dryly. Still, she agreed on principle and nodded at his words. The amazon tapped her chin in a contemplative manner and tilted her head.

"Right." For some reason, her smile gained a melancholy tone. "Never had to worry about money."

Obsidian raised an eyebrow at that.

"What, because you were rich from the get go?" He asked in a skeptical tone and Tiona closed her eyes. Lili could swear that it almost looked like she remembered something. When she opened them after a deep sigh, her eyes seemed a bit clouded, her smile more sad than happy.

"Let's say...I had other concerns..."

Looking at the others, Lili saw that Lefiya and Aiz were just as confused. She raised an eyebrow because of it. Huh. So it was one of these "private from even the family" kind of things.

Well, luckily for them, Obsidian was here to save the day before it could get awkward again as he let out a casual grunt.

"Hm." Then he whipped his head to his right and pointed at a stall he looked at. "Who wants food?"

To be honest, Lili had her fill, but if eating could prevent any more drama, she could do for a snack. Hell, it were hot potatoes, so why not?

Aiz seemed to agree wholeheartedly, considering how her eyes began to sparkle.

Fast forward, and Lili had to correct her previous statement. Aiz didn't just agree, just absolutely loved the idea of eating those hot potatoes. Like she was doing at the moment, having a big bag full of those things in her arms, while eating away at them in a rapid pace.

Lili tilted her head.

Huh, she kinda ate like Bell when he tasted something very good. Small, inefficient, but quick bites.

Suffice to say, a certain elf decided to voice out what everyone was thinking.

"How cute..." Lefiya muttered with a dreamy smile. While Tiona snickered at her reaction, Lili rolled her eyes and bobbed her roommate on the head. After letting out a yelp and covered her head, the Pallum gave her a dry look.

"Lefiya, you're doing the thing again," she commented, causing Lefiya to blush furiously and Tiona to hold her stomach as she struggled to contain her laughter. Obsidian on the other hand tilted his head at his student.

"Does the thing have a name?" He asked with minor curiosity and Lili waved him off.

"Eh, still working on it."

"Working on what?"

"Nothing," Lili replied smoothly when she turned around to see Aiz having come closer to the group, deciding that she could walk and eat her favorite food. It worked perfectly, as the Sword Princess didn't seem to suspect a thing as she shrugged.

"Hm." Looking at the potato she already took a bite off, she offered it to the Pallum with an innocent look on her face. "Lili, want some?"

If Lili was raised like a normal girl, she might have been a bit flustered by this. But jaded by Obsidian Noir, she just shrugged, since one was never supposed to say no to free food.

"Sure," she said, taking the potato off Aiz' hands and gulping it down in one go. Meanwhile, Aiz almost instantaneously pulled out another potato to munch on.

"Ah!" At Lefiya's loud exclamation, everyone turned at her, causing her to blush. Touching her index fingers a few times, she lowered her head. "U-uhm, don't mind me."

Confused at the muttering, Aiz blinked at the elf.

"I can give you a potato as well if you want. I have enough," she offered, before pausing and furrowing her forehead in contemplation. "I think."

While Lili and Tiona both let out a dry snort, Lefiya frantically waved her hands in front of her.

"No, that's not..." Her eyes moved around in panic, before they landed on Obsidian. Like a life line, she turned at him and bowed in a ninety degree angle all of a sudden. "L-lady Riveria sends her greetings!"

If it were night, Lili was sure there would have been crickets chirping, so sudden and weird was the topic change. Even her teacher was not safe from this, as he blinked at the elf, before glancing at the other girls in confusion. When Lili and the others shrugged, he scratched the back of his head.

"...'kay? And?" He asked in an uncertain tone. Lefiya raised her body, putting her arms on her hips with a huff. Lili had the feeling only the pride of her race gave her that fake confidence.

"S-she wanted to let you know, that's all!" She loudly declared and nodded with closed eyes. Though it made her look more cute, due to the blush, than serious. "Y-you should b-be honored!"

With a weirded out look, Obsidian nodded slowly.

"She is under no obligation to do that, but..." He trailed off and tilted his head as he crossed his arms. "Tell her I appreciate it, I guess?"

While Lefiya gaped at the man for reasons Lili totally did not force out of her mind, Tiona leaned towards the Pallum's right with a sly grin.

"Is he…?" She began to say gleefully, poking Lili with her elbow. But the latter was having none of it, as she pushed the amazon away with a deep frown.

"Not going to talk about it," she declared and Tiona pouted after letting out a small whine.

"Eeehhh? Still a taboo?"

"Yup," Lili said, crossing her arms with a glare. Sighing, the amazon raised her hands in mock surrender. On the other hand, Aiz to Lili's left tilted her head in confusion.

"I don't get it," she said in a soft voice. With a sigh of relief, Lili patted Aiz on the back.

"And for that, you are my favorite person in the family," the Pallum said with a grin, noticing absentmindedly how smooth the back felt on her fingers. Anyway, Aiz blinked at the words.

"You're welcome?"

After a small laugh among the group and exasperation for Lefiya and confusion for her teacher, Lili and the others idly made their way through the streets, spending most of their time window shopping in the more fashion oriented area of Orario. At the same time, the girls talked about various things, their last topic about the latest shenanigans of their goddess, Loki, who apparently was forced to do paperwork with Tione for Finn after a prank gone wrong. Either that, or sexual harassment gone wrong.

Lili's mouth thinned as she trailed behind the group, not having much to add to the conversation.

She was not sure what to think of Loki.

On the one hand, she was a perverted old man. Lili could count on one hand who Loki didn't attempt to harass and that was Lili herself. And the Pallum was sure that was because of her teacher and maybe Finn. The latter, because Lili didn't really see any other Pallum in the family, but that might be because she missed them.

On the other hand…The goddess was charismatic, and not only because of her divinity. As much of a pervert she was, she enjoyed spending time with her children, though Lili didn't have much chance to interact with her considering the size of the family. Nevertheless, Loki cared and showed it in her own ways, which made her leagues better than Soma.

Before she could think more about it however, a voice to her right shook her out of her thoughts.

"Wonder how it feels like," Obsidian muttered, hands in his pockets as he strolled next to her.

"How what feels like?" Lili asked, looking up at him. The man sighed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Having a goddess around and caring for each other," he replied quietly and immediately, Lili's eyes were filled with sympathy.

Right, he had a similar situation as she once had. She almost forgot about it. The talk of the other girls must have stirred up some emotions in him, maybe jealousy, for him to bring it up.

Lili wasn't sure what to say to that. 'Yeah, that sucks' didn't seem like the best reply. Not that she came to word, because they were not alone.

Tiona and the others heard what he said. The former turned around crossing her arms behind her back as they came to a stop and the amazon leaned forward to the teacher with a questioning expression, while Lefiya and Aiz were behind her, equally curious.

"What do you mean with that?" Tiona asked and Obsidian sighed.

"Not that close to my goddess, like you guys are," he explained as he gestured at the group. Lili couldn't help but scoff.

That was an understatement, but she knew she should keep this secret, for his sake. A small part of her was surprised Obsidian revealed such information. Then again, it was rather scarce and he probably knew what he could reveal and what not.

Anyway, Aiz gulped down her food she had with her and tilted her head.

"Is there bad blood between you?" She asked in a polite tone and the bandaged man waved her off.

"Eh, more like there isn't much of anything between us. She is distant. Only interacts with us in the bare minimum that is required."

Tiona winced, while Lefiya bit her lip awkwardly. For some reason however, Aiz reaction was completely different. Her eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering something. Lili narrowed her eyes. Did Obsidian's words remind her of someone?

"I-I'm sure she will change her mind!" Lefiya shouted, trying to sound confident and comforting. Obsidian on the other hand only gave her a sad smile.

"A decade is kinda long, don't you think?" He asked quietly.

Coughing awkwardly, the elf averted her eyes. In general, the atmosphere was down, the pressure high enough one would think they were in an ocean. Lili closed her eyes with a deep breath.

No way she was going to let him mope around. If he could kick bad atmosphere away, so could she! Crossing her arms, she put up a grin on her face as she looked at her teacher.

"Hey, maybe she will change her mind someday. There has to be something good about Gaia, right?" She said, hoping that this little false hope might be enough to distract Obsidian.

However, the Pallum did not cause the desired effect. Because her teacher froze, like a deer in front of a minotaur.

Then, slowly, almost like his neck was rusty, Obsidian turned his head around, with his eyes wide open, filled with disbelief and a message that screamed "what the hell are you doing, you stupid girl". Lili didn't know what she did to deserve that ten thousand yard stare, but she was certain she didn't deserve that. Looking at the others, she raised an eyebrow at Tiona, but she looked less confused and even more curious that before. Raising her hands behind the back of her head, the amazon leaned to the right a bit.

"So that Gaia is your goddess, mummy man?" She asked, glancing at the man in question and realization dawned on Lili why Obsidian looked so disappointed at her. Her eyes widened in shock.

She just spilled the beans of who his goddess was, the one thing he asked her to keep secret of her. Well, one of the few things, which didn't make the situation much better.

Lili bit her lip.

Fuck her life. She just thought to herself to keep his private life secret and then she proceeded to reveal his goddess' name?! What was wrong with her?!

Naturally, her teacher asked the same by just looking at her in exasperation. When she blushed and shrunk into herself, the man sighed and covered his face as he shook his head.

"It hasn't even been a week and you-"

However, Obsidian did not manage to end the sentence. Why? Because a loud thud sounded in the area and everyone turned around to Aiz, who dropped her bag, the potatoes rolling out of it. Not that Lili really focused on that. Instead, she flinched when she looked into Aiz' eyes.

It was like staring into the abyss. They were almost completely empty, as if she wasn't even all there. It felt like Aiz didn't look at the Pallum, but at some abstract construct only she could see. However, there was also a small glimmer of light, though Lili didn't know what it was.

"Why...did you say that name...?" Aiz asked quietly, her voice filled with disbelief, yet with a touch of hope for some reason.

Before anyone could answer however, vibrations coursed through the streets.

Then, the ground broke apart.

* * *

 **History Returns 9.4**

Lili didn't need to wonder for long why the ground began to crack, because the thing that caused it broke through it almost immediately after, causing a big dust explosion. Covering her face, she grimaced as she reflexively jumped back, at the same time as the other adventurers with her. When the dust settled, the Pallum finally laid eyes on the thing – a monster – that caused this event.

A long, snake like being emerged, moving around frantically, as if searching the area.

It moved like a snake as well, but Lili didn't see any facial traits on what she assumed was the head. It could have been a tail, but that begged the question of why the tail would come first and not the head. To be honest, it looked more like some kind of vine or plant now that she narrowed her eyes.

In the back of her mind, the sight stirred something up. However, Lili didn't have much time to think about, as she immediately went into combat mode, moments after her seniors did. In the time she pulled out Liberty from her coat, Tiona already jumped forward into the fray. Rearing back her fist, she grit her teeth before smashing the head down into the ground.

To Lili's surprise however, the monster did not break. It didn't even bruise or got disoriented from what she could see. Instead, something more terrified happen.

Holding her fist close to her face, the amazon hissed in pain as tears welled up in her eyes. From what Lili could see from her angle, the hand was bruised, unlike the plant monster.

"Ouch!" The amazon exclaimed and blew against her fist, before shaking it frantically with gritted teeth. "This thing's hard!"

While this would have been comedic in any other situation, the Pallum sweated nervously.

Tiona Hiryute was level five. Which meant her body was essentially rock hard. For her fist to have hurt meant that this plant snake thing had to be at least as hard as solid steel. Either that, or it had some special skill, like hardening its skin in response to physical trauma or tense its muscles to a ridiculous amount.

Either way, if the first suspicion of Lili was true, that meant…

Her eyes widened in shock.

Offensive wise, this monster could hurt Tiona even more.

"Watch out!" The Pallum yelled at the amazon. The latter looked up from her own fist and yelped as she jumped away. At the same time, the weird monster's head, tail, whatever, smashed into the spot Tiona was in and left a crater in its wake, confirming Lili's suspicion.

This monster was dangerous, even to top class adventurers. Defense, speed, attack power, it had them all.

Lili bit her lips and furrowed her forehead.

It had to have some weaknesses. Every monster had that. The question was, what were they?

If blunt attacks didn't work, maybe cutting would do the trick, Lili mused as she looked at her naginata. She had two weapons for that, but the question was if the others had cutting weapons. Lefiya and Obsidian were instantly out, which only left Aiz and Tiona. From what she could remember, they had to get their weapons repaired. Though it's been some time since then.

"Aiz, Tiona, do you have your weapons?" Lili decided to ask loudly, while Tiona had a standoff with the monster, the latter moving slowly around as if it was observing the amazon.

Tiona shook her head, with a somewhat sheepish expression as she held her arms in front of her, ready to guard at any time.

"Nope, still melted!" She replied loudly. Before Lili could groan in annoyance, she heard a sharp metal sound next to her. Turning her head, she saw Aiz with a high class rapier in her right hand.

Lili blinked at that.

How did she not see the rapier? Was she so used to being surrounded by weapons?

Making some test swings, Aiz narrowed her eyes at the plant monster.

"I have a replacement," she stated, before holding the weapon vertical in front of her body, the tip pointing at the sky. As if an unspoken command was given, Tiona's eyes widened and she immediately jumped out of the way between Aiz and the monster, going so far as to going up on a building.

At the same time, the Sword Princess took a deep breath.

"Awaken, Tempest."

With her soft words, she chanted her signature spell and immediately wind twirled around her like a mini tornado. The next second later, and Aiz shot forward like an arrow, swinging her weapon down, enhanced by her wind.

Too fast for the monster, it could do nothing but take the attack head on. To Lili's relief, her theory was correct: Aiz cut through the monster like a knife through butter, its supposed head splitting in half. Bladed weapons and magic did the work then.

As the monster was abot to dissolve, the Pallum narrowed her eyes at the corpse. The sight made her widen her eyes.

Split apart like that, the "head" revealed its insides and showed how much more dangerous it could have been.

It looked like a flower with for petals and sharp teeth in the middle, which she assumed was the mouth. Well, if it weren't cut in half and in the middle of dissolving. So her suspicion of it being the head was correct. If she had to guess, the monster stone would be located inside the mouth as well.

For some reason though, this increased the intensity of the bugging noise in the back of her head, making the girl frown in annoyance. Before she could think more about it though. Life was as usual not done messing with Lili and the others.

The ground that broke from before left nice gaps. Gaps used by three or four more plant monsters, Lili couldn't tell, who immediately tried to encircle Aiz. At the same time, she could see that more were coming out.

"There are more!" Lefiya yelled in shock and Lili couldn't suppress the urge to roll her eyes.

"We can see that!"

Anyway, the plants split up to attack Tiona and Aiz, both who nimble dodged the assault, despite having to avoid attacks from various angles at the same time. Lili counted herself lucky that they didn't went in her direction yet.

Meanwhile, the Sword Princess weaved around her enemies, then took a deep breath as she reared her arm back with the rapier.

"If it's only that much, I can deal with the-"

Before she could finish her sentence or her swing, it happened.

Just as the blade and the wind was about to make contact with the enemy… The weapon shattered into pieces, leaving only the hilt with a broken blade that made it look like a poor man's dagger.

Aiz froze for a moment, eyes wide as she stopped in mid swing. Everyone else, Lili included, gaped at the sight. Even the plant monsters stopped moving for a moment.

"I am going to get yelled at..." The Sword Princess muttered in a sad tone. This reminded everyone in the area what they were actually doing right now, especially the monsters, who proceeded to renew their assault at Aiz. One of them opened its mouth wide and aimed at her head. However, Aiz wasn't a veteran for nothing and quickly recovered from her loss of weapon.

Slamming the hilt against one of the plants like it was a brass knuckle, she channeled her wind and rocketed her enemy away from her, taking some of the other monsters with it. However, it was not dead and was merely sent away. Still, it bought Aiz time to gain some distance, as she clicked her tongue at the broken weapon.

"Correction, I could have dealt with them," she said with a frown as she stepped backwards, stopping when she was to Lili's left. The Pallum had the big urge to chide the Sword Princess for her carelessness, but decided that now was not the time. Sharing a glance with the other girls, while the monsters were far enough for now, they all nodded at the same time.

They needed to regroup. With no weapons, two of their fighters could not do any good damage and from what she could see, Lili and Lefiya could maybe barely keep up with the speed of the monsters. They needed a stronger front line in order for Lefiya to cast magic and blast these thigns to oblivion.

Though on second thought, they potentially had four people to defend Lefiya with, so-

Lili's eyes widened.

Wait. Four? The words made her notice something.

Why didn't her teacher make a single sound since the plant monster appeared?

Turning her head around, she glanced at her teacher. And the sight made her heart drop.

Obsidian Noir didn't join Aiz and Tiona to battle, because he was too busy being on his knees and hyperventilating, his eyes unfocused as his bandages became drenched with sweat. For a moment, the Pallum was confused why he reacted like this.

Then it hit her and she wanted to hit herself as well.

His past! The monsters he talked about that killed the entire group he was with! What kind of idiot was she to forget that?! It was horrible timing as well! She had to get him out of his funk immediately!

Dashing towards him and reverting Liberty to its basic stick form, she grabbed his cheeks and shook her a bit strongly.

"Teacher?" When he didn't react, she lightly slapped his cheeks. "Teacher!"

But he didn't react. His eyes were still completely lost in his trauma. Lili felt rage well up in her chest and took a deep breath.

"OBSIDIAN!" She screamed right into his face, her throat hurting from the volume she created. But it did the job, she noticed with wide eyes.

The cloudy mist began to vanish and Obsidian blinked. His breathing became a bit more normal. Well, normal compared to the heaving he did.

At last, he looked at her, with full clarity. The sight made Lili smile softly at him.

Yes, she-

"Watch out!"

The panicked voice of Lefiya made Lili snap her head back to the front.

Just in time to see a set of teeth right at her face.

The next thing she knew however, the world shifted and the teeth were gone. Also, Lili was not standing anymore and instead was lying on something soft. The Pallum blinked and then looked up, to see her teacher breathing heavily with a frown, holding her in his arms.

This was when it clicked to her.

Obsidian just saved her from being eaten.

"Nice one!" The amazon yelled as she jumped down from a rooftop, just when it got destroyed by one of the monsters. At the same time, Aiz knocked the plant up into the air that just tried to eat the Pallum. Both landed next to them and with that, the group was back together. Cracking her fists, she looked at Obsidian. "Can you fight?!"

The Pallum bit her lip when she turned back to her teacher.

Lili could already tell with a glance. He may have been back to the present, but the mental damage was still there. His eyes began to cloud over again, not as much as before, but it was still present. His breathing became more erratic, but Lili could see how much he forced himself to stay in the presence.

"Don't...bet on it..." He bit out, gritting his teeth. Standing up, Lili shook her head as she turned Liberty back into its naginata form.

He would be of limited use in this battle, at best.

Tiona clicked her tongue, understandably and turned to the rest of the girls in their "combat line".

"Alright, improvise then. Lili, you cover Lefiya! Lefiya, do the thing!" She turned to the Sword Princess and motioned with her head at the incoming monsters. "Aiz, let's go!"

"Roger that!" The other girls shouted at the same time and the top class adventurers dashed forward to meet the enemy. Honestly, the Pallum wanted to be anywhere but where she was right now, but it wasn't like they had a better choice.

They didn't have time to carry a panicking teacher around and they couldn't rely on him to keep his hold on his sanity. So this was the best course of action: Take them on right there and then.

With her eyes focused, she held her weapon high over her head, standing in front of Lefiya and her teacher. She was a level below the former, but if Lili could at least distract the enemy while she casted, Lili would call it a successful day.

Now, some would question why she didn't give Liberty to the stronger adventurers. It was simple, really.

She couldn't. Or rather, the weapon would be useless, because it would automatically revert to its stick form if it was held by anyone but her. Lili didn't know how it worked, it just did and that was all she needed to know at the moment.

"I wish upon the name of Wishe," Lefiya began to cast, her hands held in front of her and magical energy surging around her and shook Lili out of her musings.

Right. Game face on.

"Static Armor! Static Extend!" The Pallum exclaimed, the familiar tingling of lightning covering her body and weapon like a soft layer, at the same time increasing her reach. Nodding in satisfaction, she was ready to guard her friend and comrade and looked up.

What happened next was mind boggling.

One moment, the plants surrounded Aiz and Tiona as they attempted to strike at them. The next moment, two of them broke of their formation and darted off, with easily double the speed they had before.

Their target? The magic caster.

Their flower heads folded, they were like a blurring block aiming to cripple them. Lili heard Lefiya gasp in surprise, right as she herself stared at them in shock. Mentally, she knew that the little lapse of attention made sure she wouldn't be fast enough to guard herself.

However, the two of them were not alone.

A blur moved from behind them and the back of tensed hands covered Lili's and Lefiya's vision. It was at that moment that the Pallum was reminded by one simple thing.

 _He should be even with level six._

Seeing that Tiona went hand to hand against the monsters reasonably well, despite the fact she couldn't hurt them…

Was it a wonder that her teacher, supposedly a level above her, caught the two heads of the flowers with his bare hands?

The bandages were ripped off a bit or fluttered away and he was pushed back a little bit, but his hands still held. They didn't drew blood.

The petals tried to open, but Obsidian simply tensed his hands even more, the man letting out a grunt. They pushed a bit, but the man simply put pressure back on.

Then, he took a shuddering breath.

"Sta...tic.."

The sight Lili saw only made the gap between herself and her teacher obvious.

His arms were completely free of the bandages, as they were blown away like an explosion, revealing his pale skin. His muscles were well defined and she could see some old worn scars. But the girl only gave it a moment of her attention and instead focused on the static.

No, not static, she thought with a wide, open mouth.

Lightning. Instead of the blanket that occasionally shot out sparks in Lili's case, it was a rampaging storm of electrical might. Lili was not even close to emitting such a high Static output. At least not longer for more than a second, even with Infinite Shift. And the man did it with almost not a sweat.

The plants didn't have a chance. The moment he activated his magic, they got incinerated into ashes.

Even when the other plants disengaged from Aiz and Tiona to jump at the man like hounds smelling blood, they were just like flies flying into a candle light. All they did was to make it easier for her teacher to kill them, which he did as the smell of burned flesh filled the air.

Breathing heavily, Obsidian's arms dropped as if they were weighted down. At the same time, more monsters appeared and Lili had to groan in annoyance.

How many were there?!

Looking back at her teacher, expecting him to do the work, she grinned. But it quickly fell when she noticed how he grabbed his arms, as if he was hugging himself.

"Go...after magic..." He muttered, gritted his teeth and suddenly raised his volume of voice, tone filled with frustration. "Stick to the plan!"

By now, Lili could have pieced herself together that the monsters were after magic, but it was always good to have verbal confirmation.

"Can you do that again, Obsidian?!" Tiona yelled at him and he shook his head.

"No!"

The Pallum then knew why he was hugging himself and her eyes widened.

His body was shaking again, which equaled a shaking focus. Despite the fact that Static was a short chant magic, not being able to focus would cause an Ignus Fatuum. With the amount of magical energy he showcased…

The entire street would blow up. Which brought them back to the problem they faced from the get go.

However...

"Please give me strength..."

They bought time and that was all that mattered, Lili noted as she glanced at Lefiya, her momentary lapse of concentration not strong enough to interrupt her spell.

The first phase was done. Now Lefiya had to cast the actual spell she learned from Riveria.

It also spelled the actual start of the fighting, including Lili this time as well.

It was utter mayhem.

She could barely differentiate her surroundings with her eyes, that many flowers were around. She stopped counting after eight but they were long enough that the number seemed to be double than it actually was.

While Tiona and Aiz took the brunt of the monsters, after realizing that Lefiya was a priority targets, they couldn't stop all of them. Even when Aiz threw her wind around like crazy and the amazon catching a bundle underneath her arms, it didn't relief Lili from her duty of slashing around herself like crazy, her naginata twirling so fast it might as well have been a wheel of death. The only reason she could do that was because she didn't use Static.

She would be a crappy bodyguard if she was targeted and taken out first.

Speaking of bodyguard, Lili glanced at her teacher and she clicked her tongue.

There was nothing that could remind her of the one who taught her on the walls. The forms were there, he did attack with proper punched and kicks. But that was it. No sign of tactics were in his actions. He was running purely on instincts and experience. Things that rusted over from not being in any active danger for the last years. Adding the panic and trauma he must have been feeling at the time and Lili was impressed he managed to fight that well.

Rolling forward, she stopped on her right knee and slashed upward with her dagger, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself to cut into the hard hide of the monster. Liberty was sharp, yes, but it wouldn't compare to, let's say, Desperate.

Letting a deep breath out, the Pallum wiped some sweat of her forehead, but the moment she did, cracking sounds came from behind her. Whipping her head around, she saw how two more of the plant monsters rose from the ground.

Right behind Lefiya, Lili saw with wide eyes.

Crap! She got distracted!

She made a dash in a frantic manner, but she knew it was already too late. Her mouth was about to open in order to warn the elf, but she knew that Lefiya did not have the reflexes to dodge it.

None of the others in the group could make it in time either, even if they had no-

"Firebolt!"

The familiar shout was followed by a cracking explosion, engulfing the head of one of the monsters in flames. Lili could swear she saw lightning in there as well, but then she remembered where she heard the word before.

As if he heard her, Bell came out of a side alley, with his left palm stretched out, before rearing his right arm back with the new knife he had received. Then, with a shout, he cut into the other, not burning plant and went through it, leaving a wide open gash on its body.

While Lili stumbled for a just a moment, she managed to gather herself and took a deep breath.

"Static Shot!"

With two swift moves, she shot small lightning balls out of her naginata, aimed at the open mouths of the hurt monsters, frying the crystals inside. At the same time, as Bell next to her, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the Hestia Knife.

His knife was sharp!

Anyway, side by side, Bell glanced at her with a frown while in combat position.

"Are you alright?" He asked with concern and Lili nodded in confirmation, before narrowing her eyes at him.

"Bell, was that the first time you used that?"

At least the rookie looked a bit sheepish as he let out an awkward chuckle.

"Well...yes."

"Talk about trial by fire," Lili said with an amused snort before grinning at him. "Good work."

"T-thanks," he replied with a small blush. Then, his eyes widened and he held his knife higher. "Watch out!"

Reacting immediately, the two of them dodged, Bell via jumping away and Lili via a side step and jamming her dagger into the monster's neck. The action was quickly mimicked by Bell from the other side. Then, at the same time, they drove their weapons deeper and then ran their knife's up to its head, killing it that way.

Taking a small breather, if one could call it that, Lili turned back to the rookie.

"Where are Lady Hestia and Lisa?" She asked with concern, but Bell smiled brightly.

"Lisa escorted her back to the Guild!"

The Pallum let out a sigh of relief. A goddess would be cannon fodder if those things out and about.

Luckily for them, they wouldn't be here for much longer.

"...name is Alf!" Lefiya announced loudly, her magic at its peak. Then, with a strained voice, she yelled out to the others. "I'm ready!"

Lili couldn't help but look at the mage with a whistle. Damn, Lefiya's focus was on point today!

Anyway, at her words, everyone buggered away from the front in order to get behind the caster, Lili and Bell being the slowest despite them being the closest. Once they were out of the line of fire, Lefiya threw her right hand back, with her left palm still stretched, just as the monsters moved to chase after them.

"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"

Casting the name of one of Riveria's magic spells, snow flake symbols appeared behind the young elf. The monsters were up to her face, but it was already too late.

A concentrated blast of pure coldness shot out like tornado, freezing the ground it passed. When the dust settled, it revealed that the plants themselves were also frozen solid in ice chunks.

Not even missing a beat, Tiona stepped forward and punched the ice in front of her.

The small crack quickly became several big cracks and the ice shattered, with the monsters in them. Still, Lili looked around in unease, weapon still in hand.

"Please tell me that was all of them," she asked in a whining tone and the amazon cupped her hands in front of her mouth, taking a deep breath.

"Hey, if you're all dead, don't make a sound!" Silence reigned after she shouted and she turned back to the group, hands behind her head as she smirked. "Yeah, I think we got it."

With that, everyone let out a breath of exhaustion. Still, they all smiled at each other, patting the other on the back or doing a high five.

Or in Aiz' case, "sheathing" the rest of her rapier and nodding at the others with a soft expression.  
"You did well." She smiled softly at Bell and Lefiya. "Both of you."

The two of them immediately blushed at the same time and looked away, giggling as they scratched their right cheek.

"T-thanks..." They said at the same time, not noticing the other said the same. Aiz tilted her head in confusion while Tiona snickered next to Lili, who palmed her face in exasperation.

But then, she noticed something.

Where was Obsidian?

Looking around, Lili didn't see Obsidian with them. When she turned her head, she breathed out in relief in spotting him, but something was off as he just...stood there.

"Teacher?" She asked with some concern. But just as she was about to walk over, he suddenly clawed at his mouth, doing something with his bandages there.

Then, he fell on his hands and knees and emptied his stomach. The action shocked Lili so much, she didn't move a muscle.

During his barfing, she could hear him start to sob and Lili was sure he was crying. The sight was surreal for Lili, as she stood there, watching him throw up and sobbing like a child.

But the worst were the words that came out between all of that.

"Oh god...damn it...damn it..." He muttered quietly, yet in the silence, he was easily heard.

Lili shook her head slowly, face filled with disbelief. He sounded...so broken.

The joyful mood of the group was gone by now, she could feel it. Yet neither of them made a move and Lili understood. She herself couldn't make a move either. What was one to say to such a thing? A grown, somewhat respectable man, reduced to a crying wreck?

Looking back, the student should have said something. Or at the very least, not feel disgust at what she was seeing.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Noble Heart II**

When the day started for the elf, she didn't expect much. Sure, today was the festival and all that, but considering that she was going to be busy with paperwork all day and the usual trouble makers were outside the building, Riveria expected a calm day.

Considering her life experience, she should have known better than that. The sun hadn't even set yet and already the woman had a headache because of today's event.

Unknown monsters appearing in the middle of the city and Aiz being in debt because she broke yet another weapon were only the top of the cake.

Hearing the report of the girls didn't make her head hurt any less.

Tracking magic, hide strong enough to resist Tiona's and Aiz blunt attacks, apparently strong enough to severely hurt Lili and Lefiya if Obsidian weren't there...Especially with their working theory that they were dealing with an unknown tamer and Riveria did not have the peace of mind she would have liked.

Riveria frowned when she thought about Obsidian.

The man was basically unresponsive to anything since he arrived with the others at the mansion. Sure, he nodded a few times and all that, but he usually stared down on the ground, eyes rather vacant.

It worried the elf.

She did not know what happened to him and the others were hesitant to answer.

Not to mention that if Bete were there, even he would have noticed the awkwardness that surrounded Lili every time she looked at her father figure. Sure, she denied it, but Riveria could clearly see what type of relationship they had. So it was clearly something that not even Lili had ever witnessed.

Riveria let out a deep sigh.

Overall, a day full of headaches. And it wouldn't be over for a long while. There was one more thing she had to deal with. Well, technically two, but one of these had priority over the other.

Standing in front of one of their guest rooms, she turned her head around to look at Aiz, who awkwardly folded her hands in front of herself.

"Are you sure he won't be mad at us?"

Riveria smiled softly at the girl, before letting out a dry huff as she crossed her arms.

"He is the one using one of our rooms, Aiz." She put a comforting hand on Aiz' shoulder. "Besides, this is important and I know him well enough that he won't be mad."

The girl stared at her for a moment, before smiling as well with a grateful nod.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Riveria replied gently.

With that said, the elf lightly knocked on the door with her right hand. From inside, she could hear some shuffling before hearing a sigh.

"Come in. I'm decent," Obsidian said from inside in a tired voice. More importantly however, in a gravely voice.

Riveria frowned. He was affected by today worse than she thought. But considering how he dragged his body over to this room, it was to be expected.

Either way, Riveia opened the door and her eyes automatically moved over to the guest, lying on the bed as he stared at the ceiling. As usual, the man didn't even bother to change his clothes, instead dressed in his usual black colors.

With the exception of his arms, Riveria noted. From what she remembered of the report, he used magic that blew the bandages away from his arms, which had rather interesting connotations. But those were questions for another time.

Though, now that she paid attention to them, she noticed one thing that made her raise her eyebrow.

How smooth. The pale skin was somewhat expected, but she didn't expect his skin to be so devoid of scars or similar things. Sure, potions and the likes could fix that, but Obsidian didn't seem the type to use money for such things.

Blinking for a moment, she took a deep breath before walking into the room, followed by Aiz.

She had to focus here, no matter how nice his arms looked like. Even when they were well defined.

Obsidian turned his head slightly at them and raised his body before leaning against the wall. Then, he raised his right hand lazily.

"Sup," he said, trying to be casual as he smiled. "Fun meeting, wasn't it?"

Riveria could see with a single glance it was fake, but she wasn't going to call him out on it with another person in the room. Instead, she sighed, before crossing her arms and taking a seat on a chair to Obsidian's left, with Aiz sitting to her right.

"We need to talk," the noble stated calmly and she could see how the man tensed up, before turning his head away.

"If this is about Lili-"

Immediately, Riveria raised her hand in a placating manner, shaking her head at the same time.

"Actually, it is not. For now." Seeing him turn his head to them again, in confusion, Riveria glanced at her protege. "Aiz, go on."

The girl in question took a deep breath when Obsidian looked at her, tilting his head. Then, Aiz leaned forward with a determined expression.

"Can you please tell me about Gaia?" She asked in a soft tone and the man blinked for a moment, before looking down on his legs with a dry snort.

"Right, that thing back then..." He crossed his arms at the sword fighter "How do you know her?"

Aiz stiffened at the words, but Riveria somewhat expected the question. No way Obsidian wouldn't be curious about this. Because of that, she turned to the girl and motioned with her head at the guest.

"We should tell him."

The girl closed her eyes and slowly nodded at her mentor's words.

"Hm."

Having her permission, Riveria turned back to Obsidian as she folded her hands on her lap, frowning in thought about how to phrase this. Then she remembered who she was talking to, so better be blunt about it.

"Gaia is her aunt," she explained and then let out a sigh when he stared at her with a blank expression. "It's complicated."

For a while, Obsidian didn't say anything at her words, instead blinking at her as if she said something insane. Then, he slowly nodded his head, but his face was filled with disbelief.

"Gods can't have kids. Or spirits. So I assume it's more of a non blood relation thing…?"

As he trailed of and tilted his head, Riveria coughed awkwardly into her hand.

"Like I said...it's complicated."

Obsidian gave her a flat stare in response, but before the elf could feel embarrassed about it, Aiz held her right hand to her chest with a somber expression.

"I'm the daughter of Aria, a wind spirit," she started to explain and closed her eyes with a shaking breath. "I am not sure how Gaia is related to my mother, but they told me they were sisters. In what way, I never bothered to find out."

Understandable, Riveria thought with a nod. Usually, children wouldn't know anything whether or not an "aunt" was blood related or just a close friend to the family.

Meanwhile, Obsidian scratched the back of his head with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not even attempt to figure out how this stuff works. My sister is better suited for this..." He let out a sigh and shook his head, before crossing his arms. "Are you a half spirit or something?"

"No, she is completely human. Think of her like someone from the Crozzo line," the elf elaborated, twirling her elf hand with one open eyes.

It wasn't exactly like that, but it was the closest example Riveria could think of that Obsidian would know as well. It wasn't like he had access to grand libraries or the like from where he came from. Most likely, at least.

Anyway, nodding, the man leaned forward with his hands folded on his lap.

"Spirit blessing, got it. Would explain your wind power." He smiled at Aiz in a lazy, but honest manner. "I won't pry into your past too much and I won't say anything either."

"Thank you," Aiz replied with a slight bow. Then, she bit her lip nervously. "Can you…?"

Riveria clenched her hands into fists when she saw Obsidian shake his head with an apologizing smile. Her heart ached when she saw how the hope in Aiz' face got crushed in an instance.

"Sorry to disappoint, but you clearly know more about her than me," he replied in a quiet voice and waved his hand as he lowered his head. "I only know how she looks like. Little girl, short green hair, wore a summer dress last time I saw her about ten years ago, despite the fact we were in a damn tundra. Acted super mysterious and all that, but I'm sure she was doing that just to mess with us."

Riveria had a wry smile when she heard the description. Gaia certainly sounded bizarre enough to be a goddess. Though she wondered how she could wear a simple dress in an ice land. Gods were normal mortals when they were on this world.

Thoughts for later.

Anyway, Obsidian leaned back against the wall and let out a deep sigh.

"After that, only she communicated via messages." Exhausted, he twirled with his right hand. "One day she just...did a thing, blessed me and my buddies and we had to make a kingdom out of snow scratch. Well, it wasn't like she told us to do anything like that, but it was the best way to survive. Occasionally, she would send us missions depending on what we did or 'reward' us. That's it. No real interaction since our first meeting."

Despite her heritage, the elf couldn't help but gape at him in disbelief.

What kind of irresponsible goddess (if she even was one) was this Gaia?! Lady Loki at the very least treated them as family, even if she was a pervert! But this...this was ridiculous!

Glancing at Aiz, while internally fuming, she hoped that Obsidian exaggerated and that the girl wouldn't be too angry. However, to her surprise, the Sword Princess smiled awkwardly, yet softly.

"That...sounds like something she would do," she said in a melancholy tone. Obsidian raised his eyebrow at that.

"Really? How was she anyway?"

At his question, Aiz looked up at the ceiling after letting out a small giggle.

"She was...distant. Tended to stay away from others. Liked to watch more than being involved." Her smile became a bit more sad. "My parents and I were the only people she actually got close to. I could tell she was...awkward at times. Always distant, despite trying to appear nice and social. But she tried her best, if only for our sake. The few times she interacted with others were quite funny. How she tried to act cool." She looked back at the guest and bit her lip. "I...I guess the reason she treats you the way she does is because she's afraid of actual contact."

For a moment, the man stared at her blankly and Riveria was afraid he would snap at Aiz or something like that. But in the end, her fear was unfounded as he simply slumped down and took a deep breath.

"Socially awkward goddess. Great," he muttered as he shook his head and Riveria felt pity blossom up in her chest.

First Lili, now him. Why did fate decide to give them such gods? Still, she knew better than to show her pity openly, so she restrained herself with a neutral expression.

"Is she still alive?" Aiz suddenly asked quietly after a short silence and Obsidian immediately nodded.

"She is. For sure." He let out a dry scoff. "Also pretty sure she's a stalker. How else would she know about what I do?"

A shudder went down the mage's spine. This was very creepy and Riveria lived with Lady Loki in a building. But yet again, bless Aiz' innocent soul, the girl giggled lightly into her hand.

"She is. She called herself the world's greatest stalker." She let out a sigh and stared at the ground with a small smile. "But...it was comforting in a way."

"Really?" Obsidian and Riveria asked in a dry tone at the same time, both raising their eyebrow in a skeptical manner. Aiz blushed lightly with a pout, which reminded the elf how cute the girl could be.

"Yes." Then, her blush went away and she hugged her legs on the chair. "She said she would always watch out for me, that I would never feel alone that way...She always made sure I would know she was watching over me. She...She..."

When Aiz let out a shivering breath, Riveria snapped her head at her and her eyes widened when she looked at her.

She was crying. The tears dropped down to the ground as she readjusted herself, sitting normally on the chair again.

"Aiz…?" Riveria asked in a quiet tone, as Obsidian stared at the girl with worry as well. Aiz let out a sniff and wiped he eyes as she slowly shook her head.

"If she is still alive...then why?" She looked up, her eyes red as she looked at Riveria. "Why doesn't she want to meet me then?"

The elf's eyes widened at the words, realizing the consequences of Obsidian's confirmation. A family member was alive...and didn't even bother to meet with you. Riveria grit her teeth in anger. She could research later where this Gaia was and then force her to do things right. But for now, she had to help Aiz. But the noble did not get a chance to do so.

"Does she...does she just not know about me or...did I do anything wrong?" Aiz continued, her voice a whisper as she tried to suppress her sobs, but failed.

"Aiz, that's not-"

"Excuse me," the Sword Princess abruptly interrupted her, before quickly dashing out of the room as she threw the doors open and then smashed them shut as she left.

With that, the elf was alone with Obsidian, left in an awkward air. Luckily, the man realized that he had to get rid of it and cleared his throat as he leaned forward to address her.

"Maybe you should ask Loki about Gaia. Gods know each other, right?" He recommended and Riveria nodded.  
"We never did mention the connection between Aiz and Gaia to her...I will do it later," she said, trying to smile politely. With that done, she remained seated. A fact, that Obsidian noticed and he raised his eyebrow.

"Why aren't you following her?" He asked, tilting his head. Riveria in turn took a deep breath.

Now that they were alone, it was time to confront him.

"This family doesn't only consists of me and her," she explained with closed eyes, her hands folded on her lap. Then, she opened her eyes, staring at Obsidian with a frown. "You look like you need to talk. About...what happened."

As expected, he immediately stiffened and averted his gaze as he looked down on his legs.

"What's there to say? Plants attacked, I helped, I threw up and now I'm here," he muttered and shrugged, trying to act nonchalantly. "No big deal."

Riveria didn't believe it for a second and crossed her arms in disapproval.

"Don't brush it off like this. A traumatic reaction is quite certainly a big deal," she stated, but instead of him opening up, he gave her a smirk.

It was not a pretty one.

"Daw, you worry so much about me?" He asked sarcastically and Riveria's mouth thinned.

Okay, now it was so obvious even Bete would be able to pick up the attempt at diverting her attention. But not with Riveria Alf Ljos.

She was angry. Angry that he didn't trust her enough with this. But one wouldn't get as old as her and not learn some self restraint. So instead, she crossed her legs, her expression blank as she kept staring at him.

"Stop avoiding the topic," she bluntly said and actually made him flinch. For a while, he looked away. But in the end, he let out a sigh. Riveria made sure that he couldn't see her victorious grin.

Looking out of the window, the man leaned back against the wall, slumping against it as he showed how exhausted he actually was.

"I thought I could live up to what Lili expects me to do. Wants me to do. And I appreciate it, I really do," he said in a quiet voice and then grit his fists in frustration. "I tried. Very hard. But the moment of truth came and..."

A sharp breath intake and he closed his eyes.

"I'm pathetic and Lili knows that now. Can't blame her either," he replied, opening his eyes with a sad smile as he slowly shook his head. "Throwing up in front of everyone...The old me could have taken them out without breaking much of a sweat..."

Riveria's gaze softened at his words. So that was the problem. His trauma and his failure to live up to Lili's expectations. Both were disappointed in each other to some degree. But more importantly, they were disappointed in themselves. Obsidian, for his perceived failure. And from what she could see, Lili, for her behavior because of it.

He would not tell her what his relation was with the plant monsters. He kept quiet about it in the meeting and he definitely wouldn't tell her now. Because of that, she simply let out a sigh. She could only to her best now.

Leaning forward, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezed in reassuringly.

"I won't push you to tell me what happened. But bottling these feelings up is not healthy." When he looked at her, she gave him a soft smile. "You should talk to her."

Blinking for a moment, he stared at her. Then, he sighed and looked down, gently pushing her hand away with his own right.

"If talking were enough, all problems in the world would be solved." He turned to her again and bowed his head. "I...I can't help you with this stuff. The plants. Not like this."

"I understand," Riveria replied in understanding, but then frowned. "But you didn't tell me what you will do with Lili."

He winced, but otherwise stayed quiet. He opened his mouth a few times, but no sound came out, as he was uncertain on what he should actually do.

Time for a little push then.

"You know that she doesn't hate you, right?" She asked rhetorically with crossed arms. "At most, she is confused. She still cherishes you like before. I am sure she is waiting for you to confront her, as she is too afraid to do it herself. As a responsible adult, you shou-"

Naturally, her nagging had the desired effect, as he raised his right hand with a groan.

"I know..." He nodded a few times and let out a sigh. "I...I'll talk with her later."

"It would most likely be helpful," the elf stated, acting innocently despite the joy inside her.

"Don't sass me, princess," he replied displeased, but smiled nonetheless. But Riveria didn't focus on that.

He spoke normally. In his deep, bass like voice. This time, she didn't restrain herself from smiling. But she still had to hide the real reason and decided to flip her hair behind her right ear.

"Well, if you pout like a child, how could I not tease you like one?" She asked, causing him to roll his eyes in frustration. Now that the atmosphere was more casual now, her gaze moved back to his arms, the sigh unusual for her. She tapped her lower lip with intrigue. "Hm. Rather pale. Interesting."

For a moment, he stared at her as if she was crazy. Then, he followed her eyes and saw his own arms, causing him to click his tongue.

"I knew I forgot something..." He muttered and shook his head. "Got some bandages."

"We only have white ones, so you have to live with this for now," she replied, while thinking it was a shame that he would hide himself yet again.

To her pleasant surprise however, he hestitated. In the end, he let out a sigh and didn't bother to stand up, as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, no sense in wasting money for such little skin..."

Riveria's eyes softened at his words.

He was not fine. Not completely. But this was a sign that he got better. The fact he covered his body less than before. Not to mention it was nice to look at.

"Can I borrow Lili for a mission outside Orario? I got the paperwork done anyway, all I need is some signatures." He suddenly said after a small silence, turning his head back at her. Quickly, she met his gaze, trying to hide her embarrassment and politely nodded.

"By all means, I insist."

A mission would be a nice distraction for them, not to mention that the outside world was a lot safer right now than Orario. It would be a good experience as well, and as mean as it sounded, meant one less child to cause trouble for Riveria.

Obsidian smiled in gratitude and bowed slightly.

"Thanks." When he raised his head however, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Though I gotta ask if one of your people could train with Bell."

Riveria tilted her head at that.

"Bell Cranel?" She asked in confusion. "You're not going to take him with you?"

Excluding him sounded...counterproductive. From what she could remember, his self esteem was not the best. Especially after Bete did to the poor boy. In response, Obsidian shrugged.

"Level one and I want him to have more...safe experience. Outside the walls, some nasty stuff can happen. Believe me. Besides, I don't want to leave his goddess alone."

The elf hummed in thought. That sounded reasonable enough and the first floors were usually the safest place to train. But Riveria had a feeling he was hiding something.

Well, it wasn't her business and she could make use of the idea herself.

"I believe Aiz could use the distraction. She needs to learn leadership abilities anyway and that would include training others," she said, agreeing to his proposal. But the man tilted his head with a frown.  
"Didn't she smash Lili into a wall?" He asked in a skeptical tone.

"She learned," Riveria countered smoothly, fully knowing how bad Aiz actually was at many things outside being a strong individual fighter. The man slowly nodded, not believing a single word she said. But in the end, it wasn't his problem. Unlike Lili, Bell wasn't like a child to him, so he didn't feel any obligation.

With that, they signed his fate to Aiz and moved on. As in, remaining in silence. Because of that, they simply sat around, rather comfortably, taking in their surroundings.

Well, Obsidian did. Riveria's eyes were attracted by his arms again and she bit her lips.

It was bothering her too much. She couldn't stay quiet.

"Apologies, but I have to ask. What are you using for your skin? It looks so smooth," she asked, not even trying to stop the words flowing from her mouth and instead tried to act casual about it.

The man froze and gave her a weirded out look. When she didn't move a single face muscle, he shrugged it off.

"I have a special skill that helps with that." He waved with his right hand. "Though it's more of a side effect, really."

Riveria couldn't help but feel a bit jealous about it and let out a huff with crossed arms.

"Hmph. Of course you need to cheat for good looks."

"Those are just hands, woman," he said dryly, wiggling his hands. Then he stopped and a smirk appeared on his face. "Or do you have a fet-"

"I do not have such a thing!" She yelled in indignation, her face flushed red as she abruptly stood up. Naturally, Obsidian laughed loudly at her, causing her to blush even more than before. However, despite her embarrassment, she couldn't help but smile. Being with him like this felt...nice.


	10. Chapter 10

**Between Boundaries 10.1**

Lili tried her best to relax, but she just couldn't. Under any circumstances, she would have loved to take her surroundings in. After all, this was the first time she left Orario and saw the outside world.

The request was surprising and unusual. Normally, the guild would make the requests and often, they tended to avoid the outside, because with Orario being the center of the world, the guild didn't like it when their "precious pieces" left city, since they might never come back. Still, Obsidian managed to fight through the paperwork to enable that. Officially, it was called an escort mission, with the rewards being money and "special items".

At least, that was what she heard from Lisa, since Lili avoided her teacher while he was in the manor and didn't follow him back home. She knew that it was wrong, but it felt too weird to be with him back then. Hell, it still felt like that.

It became even weirder when she walked through the halls, trying to clear her mind, only to see around the corner a crying Aiz and Riveria comforting her.

It was like that day conspired against her. But she got some interesting information out of it, as private as the conversation was. To be specific, she heard about the plans they and Obsidian had for Bell while the quest would be done.

Long story short, the rookie wasn't going to be part of it at all and instead Aiz would spend the time the team would be gone training him. Something about him being still a newbie and needing to learn.

So, only Bell was excluded and Lili had a feeling Obsidian had better reasons than simple him being level one.

Anyway, that left the original team of three, Welf, Lisa and Lili, with Obsidian outside of Orario. And the outside world was beautiful, Lili had to admit that. The roads were much wider than the ones in Orario, in her opinion, and the air was so much fresher. Not to mention the amount of greenery in the area. Trees, flowers, bushes, all of them were scattered over the wide area, yet it didn't feel stuffy at all. But more importantly, it was the sound that was different.

Except of the rolling of the wheels of the carriage, it was rather peaceful. Leaves rustling, birds chirping...the complete opposite to the ever busy Orario.

Under normal circumstances, she would be easily able to relax.

The reason she couldn't relax? She was stuck with her teacher in a single carriage. Even the driver and the horses could feel the tension, as she saw them sweat nervously. Lili couldn't talk with Welf or Lisa either, since they were in a separate carriage all together.

It was easy to see that Obsidian wanted to force a confrontation. The girl sighed and shook her head.

No use in delaying the inevitable any longer. Tapping on the wood of the window, she glanced back, letting out a pop with her lips. When her teacher glanced at her as well, she tensed up. But still, she powered through and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So," she let out awkwardly. Eloquent as ever, Lili thought dryly to herself. Still, it was plenty enough to get Obsidian turn to her completely, tapping his lap with an amused smile.

"So," he repeated jokingly, before taking a deep breath and leaning back on his seat. "If you got something to say, go ahead. I'll listen."

The girl clicked her tongue at his calm words. Of course he would make her go first. With a sigh, she nervously touched her finger tips together.

"I can explain...why...well..." She slumped down her seat as she bit her lips. "Why I avoided you."

Then, she fell silent, with her teacher staring at her patiently. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes. How was she supposed to explain it? She couldn't find the words, a way to give him proper reasons. But then an idea came to her.

She should just start from the beginning. Letting out a small giggle, she opened her eyes and looked at Obsidian, who tilted his head in confusion."

"Did you know how creeped out I was when I first met you?" She muttered in a melancholy tone, staring up at the ceiling of the carriage. Obsidian in turn let out a dry snort and crossed his arms.

"I tend to do that to people, yes," he said with some amusement and Lili shook her head with a grin.

"Well, I wasn't an exception. And it just got worse. Paying for me, guiding me to a run down district..." She shuddered and hugged herself playfully. "My instincts were screaming at me that you would be the worst person I would ever meet in my life."

As she expected, the man actually chuckled to this. With his usual humor, that was a given. However, Lili hugged her legs and her expression became softer as she looked down on the ground.

"But then...you started to help me. Save me, even," she said in a quiet voice and closed her eyes, memories surfacing to the front of her mind. "You gave me a real home, gave me food and clothes, treated me...like a decent human. Not to mention the people you introduced me too. The friends I have now. The resources you gave me." She opened her eyes and looked at her teacher, smile widening. "The love you gave me. For all of these things...I can be nothing but thankful."

She could tell his eyes watered up a bit, but he stayed quiet, knowing she wasn't done yet. Putting her feet back on the ground, she leaned back on the seat, head leaning back as she stared up.

"And even during the battle, you were so cool." She blushed and let out a small giggle, before throwing her arms up in excitement. "I mean, your Static was so much more powerful and you didn't even keep in shape! I can only dream of what you could do if you refined it again."

Slowly however, her smile fell, looking down with a solemn expression.

"And yet...yet..." A shuddering breath escaped her, her voice barely a whisper. "You looked so weak afterward. So..."

She stopped herself, not wanting to hurt him more than she already did. Still, she forced herself to look up and look him into his pained eyes, holding back a sob on her own.

"I...I didn't know what to feel, when I saw you like that." She shook her head, letting out a hollow scoff. "At first I felt disgusted, but that was probably from the barfing. Then, I was disappointed. At you, then at myself. Then I was just confused and.." Letting out a deep breath, she held her right hand against her forehead with a frown. "It was chaotic in my head. I...couldn't face you like this. At least not without being able to explain myself."

With those words said, she fell silent, slumping down her seat as she looked back down. But now, she had a smile on her face. She finally reached her answer for her behavior, now that she spoke out her thoughts at him. It wasn't a good one, but she found the truth. Because of that, she chuckled slightly, before twirling her hand at him with a side glance.

"I...guess I saw you as an unbeatable hero. My beacon of hope. An idealistic...thing I could shape myself after." She shook her head, smile still in place. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have. Not after hearing your story. But seeing is believing in my case."

There. She revealed her heart to him. All she could wait for was his judgment. Still, she couldn't help but close her eyes in shame, as tears dropped from her face and get one last thing in.

"I'm sorry for being a disappointment," she muttered. And how could she be anything but?

She never got those friends on her own. This power. This happiness. It was given to her. Even her level up was only because of the goodness that was Obsidian.

However, instead of being allowed to wallow in her self hate, a hand brushed past her face, wiping off the tears. Opening her eyes in confusion, she saw her teacher kneeling in front of her, smiling at her as he wiped the tears of his pale skin.

"That's my line," he said with a smile, his eyes a bit red from his own tears. At the same time, Lili gaped at him in disbelief, before standing up with a glare.

"You aren't a disappointment! I was just being stupid!" She shouted, hands curled up into fists. But the man simply shook his head, and gently pushed her back down on the seat. Biting her lip, she decided to stay quiet and let him talk, though her eyes were still narrowed in a glare.

With a chuckle, he went back on his seat, with his left hand still on her shoulder.

"No, you weren't," he replied in a quiet voice and his face distorted in discomfort. "After hearing what you said...your reaction was natural." He sighed and shook his head. "Guess I wanted your imagination to be true as well." He raised his right hand with a flat face just as she opened her mouth. "And don't lie, it isn't true. Not completely at least."

Lili pressed her lips together. She wanted to object, she really did. But she just went on a tandem on how her expectations were too much. She couldn't just forget her realization like that.

It didn't mean she liked how he talked himself down again.

Anyway, the man put his hand away and leaned back on the seat, looked very tired all of a sudden.

"I always tried to act cooler than I was. To be someone I wasn't and I tricked you because of that. Because..." He paused and glanced at her with a soft smile. "Because what you think is important to me. And..." His smile fell as he looked away from her, eyes fogging up with memories. At the same time, he began to scratch his chest with his right hand. "It reminded me of old days."

While she was touched by his words, causing her tears to well up again, she couldn't help but focus on his final words. Tilting her head in curiosity, she forced back her tears.

"Old days?" She asked softly, but to her disappointment, Obsidian shook his head after blinking the mist in his eyes away.

"That's a topic for another day. Suffice to say, I should be more honest. To myself and you." He took a deep breath and grinned widely at her. "And...thank you. For your words. Really."

This time, she couldn't stop herself. Letting out a single sniff, she rubbed her face off from tears, before falling into her father, wrapping her arms around tightly. Obsidian only hesitated for a moment, before returning the hug, just as tight.

"Thank you, dad," Lili muttered into his shoulder, her voice muffled. Then, separating herself a little, she grinned at him. "We cool?"

He laughed lightly and ruffled her hair with his right hand, causing her to giggle.

"No problem. And yes, we are," he replied warmly. Lili in turn tilted her head, hope blossoming up in her chest.

"You're okay with me calling you that?" She asked quietly and her grin threatened to split her face when he nodded.

"Sure. I mean, you are what I imagine a daughter would be."

"Annoying and a punching bag?" The Pallum asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow. Obsidian let out a snort and gently poked her forehead.

"Exactly."

With that, the two of them shared a giggle, before releasing their hug. However, Lili didn't want to stop the contact just yet and instead lied down on his lap. She grinned at his confusion and Obsidian let out a surrendering sigh when she didn't move an inch, instead gently rubbing her head.

"I guess Liliruca Noir has a nice touch to it..." The girl muttered, her eyes closed as she relaxed under his soothing touch.

"Better than Obsidian Arde," he replied with a snort and Lili frowned, wiggling her right hand at him.

"Eh, the sound doesn't make me barf, so it's not that bad."

They chuckled at their little gag, before silence returned, only the sound of the horse's hooves filling the air. Still, Lili opened her eyes slightly at her father, smiling softly at him.

"You're still my hero, you know?" She said quietly, this time not as a result of unrealistic worshiping, but as a fact.

"Hm," he replied in a tired tone, rubbing his chest with his right hand.

The Pallum frowned a bit.

Obsidian Noir wasn't fine. Not completely. The girl realized that. There was too much emotional baggage for him to just simply shrug off.

Still, Lili felt she did a lot to help him out. More than she did in the last months. Because of that, she didn't think much of his actions at the moment. He was probably tired from the past events. Though the chest rubbing seemed a bit random. In the end Lili shrugged, waving it off as a strong itch.

* * *

 **Between Boundaries 10.2**

According to Obsidian's predictions, it would take an hour at most to arrive at Melen. For Lili, it felt a hell of a lot longer than that. Though most of it was probably due to the awkwardness and the heart to heart that followed. After that, time flew past her like a swallow through the air. Sure, their carriage at times moved next to Welf's and Lisa's, but they were even more bored than the Pallum. The latter even took a nap, so the amount of deep conversations didn't rise during that. Small talk, sure, but that was it.

Suffice to say, nothing worth noting happened. At the very least however, the air between Lili and Obsidian was much lighter than before and the girl would say they even grew closer than before, if that were possible.

Anyway, the girl sniffed the air as she leaned out of the window and almost choked at the smell, before she pinched her nose shut. Here she thought that being able to smell the salt in the air near the ocean was an exaggeration. She sent a glare at the grinning Obsidian before rolling her eyes and taking in her surroundings.

The mostly brown colored town was pretty much split in two by a large route. It wasn't as big as Orario, but Orario was gigantic and dense anyway. But what caught her attention the most was what the road led to.

The ocean. It was far away at the horizon, but it was still a sight to behold. A sight she never saw outside of books.

The blue was more fragrant and more beautiful than described. The waves she could barely see were calm, but she knew that they could become terrifyingly destructive depending on nature's mood. Not to mention how far it stretched, with all the ships on it like ants on grass.

However, those things didn't register to the Pallum.

All Lili saw was how big the world actually was and that she was finally able to step into the open field that was always denied to her. Her eyes watered up at the thought of how much she could still do in her young life, thanks to Obsidian, but she quickly wiped the tears off and took a deep breath.

Sadly, she wasn't fast enough.

"Try not to cry when we stand in front of our clients," he said in amusement and Lili whipped her head around, giving him a glare.

"I'm not crying," she said, while furiously blinking away any remnants of tears in her eyes. Her father in turn raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Not saying it's bad, just warning you," he said casually, making Lili fume as she sat back down and crossed her arms with a huff.

Sadly, she didn't got more time to pout because the carriage came to a stop and the coachman turned around from the front with a wide grin.

"Alright, we're here!" The man extended his right arm dramatically. "Welcome to Melen!"

Well, at the very least Lili could move her legs again while being mad at Obsidian. Swinging the door open, she jumped out and began to shake her legs. At the same time, she cracked her knuckles, making crack noises at the same time as her father cracked his neck a few times. It was telling of how long they were sitting that he also did the same to his toes, for reasons Lili never wanted to know.

The two of them weren't the only ones doing their routine of stretching and cracking.

"Ohhh..." Lisa groaned out as she bent back, before snapping back as she leaned forward with a sigh and rubbed her back. "My spine is killing me..."

Welf, while stretching his arms, smirked at the blonde.

"How old are you again?"

"Old enough to know that the question is childish," she snarked back, putting her hands on her hips. Before they could escalate however, Obsidian stepped between them with a tired sigh and rubbed his face.

"Children, please." Ignoring their loud objections to being called that, the teacher pointed with his finger into the town. "Let's get a move on. The sooner we can meet with the client, the sooner we can eat and get comfortable seats." He paused and scratched his chin with a thoughtful look. "Or a couch. Been a while since I lied down on one."

Lili had to smirk at that comment and crossed her arms.

"If you weren't going to punch me, I would make a joke about your age."

"Gotta love Pavlov," he shrugged, similar smirk on his face and Lili raised her hands in mock surrender, shaking her head in amusement.

"I'll pretend I know who that is."

"Better for everyone involved."

With that comment said and Lisa shrugging when Lili and Welf looked at her, Obsidian led the way as they walked into the town.

As expected, it was not as...modern as Orario. Not that it was a dump or anything, but the buildings appeared to be mostly made by wood. Though the Pallum had to admit, they appeared to be sturdy, just like the people walking around or yelling loudly from their wooden stalls.

Well, as long as they could live in them, who was Lili to judge that they used wood?

Anyway, walking through the streets, carefully navigating through the busy masses, Lisa walked a bit faster and stood to Obsidian's left. Crossing her arms behind her head, she grinned at him.

"Now that we finally arrived..." Her grin fell and she narrowed her eyes. "Any reason you didn't bring Bell with us? And don't lie, I left my patience with the carriage."

Lili winced at the tone, but she could understand. As much as she respected Obsidian, Bell was family. Naturally, she objected at his exclusion when the teacher told them how the team would be split up. Seeing Bell so crushed didn't help the tempers at the time either and nobody really believed him about having to be at least level two. Mentioning the training and taking care of Hestia barely worked, if at all.

However, once Aiz came into play, the rookie crumbled as fast as a cookie in milk. The prospect of personal training with his crush and a famous adventurer? There was no way he wouldn't bite.

Because of that, Lisa begrudgingly agreed and Lili kept quiet about Aiz' abilities as a trainer, which were basically non existent.

Luckily, Obsidian didn't want anymore drama than she did, so her father lowered his head, his voice growing quieter.

"Frustration of being singled out plus desire to catch up with you and Aiz should be good training motivator."

The girls' eyes widened. Right, his skill. Lili almost forgot. Then, she had to grin like Lisa. That was rather sneaky of him. Bell would "suffer" short term in terms of self confidence, but long term? He would catch up in no time.

"Did I miss anything?"

The male voice made them turn around and they looked at Welf, who crossed his arms with a frown. For a moment, Lili blinked, before letting out a quiet "oh".

They never told him, did they? And it wasn't like they could tell him now, out in the public. However, reliable as ever, her father figured out a way to do this.

In the time she turned around to him, Obsidian seemed to have scribbled something down on his hand with an odd looking small, shining stick, which she assumed replaced quill. With the ink on his right palm, he showed the blacksmith the small message after gesturing for him to get closer.

 _Bell has a special skill that increases his stat growth. Don't tell._

Welf's eyes widened in shock, but then he shook his head and with a thin mouth, nodded grimly. Nodding back, Obsidian clapped his hands together, letting out a small lightning spark, before letting his arms fall to his side, the message burned away from his hands.

With that potential war starter gone, Lili tilted her head at her father.

"So, who was our client again?"

"That would be me."

The mature, female voice made the Pallum snap her head to the front and she could instantly tell who that was.

Short, messy and blonde hair that barely reached the neck, which were dirty due to weather and sea water. Her muscles were rather well defined underneath the brown shirt and black pants, most likely coming from working at a port. The scar across her face, diagonal starting from the upper right, and a few other scars on her arms were surprising, but not too unexpected. The give away however, were her eyes. Deep blue, but it was the shine that gave it away. It screamed greed, but more of a good natured kind.

The same kind Lisa had in her own eyes.

She may have no name, but Lili knew for a fact that was Lisa's mother.

The woman bowed, her right hand above her heart and closed her eyes respectfully.

"Lord Noir. It has been a while," she said warmly, but politely. Obsidian rubbed his chest with a lazy grin.

"Hello, Isabella." He pointed with his right hand at her head. "Nice hair cut."

She blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, long hair isn't really easy to maintain so close to the-"

"MOM!"

The scream caught everyone off guard and the next thing she knew, a blur went past Lili and smashed into the woman, knocking her to the ground.

Dead silence filled the air and Welf pointed at the half conscious woman with a sweatdrop.

"Did she just kill her own mother?" He asked in an incredulous tone and Lili let out a nervous giggle at the sound of pained groaning and Lisa rubbing her face into her mother's chest, completely ignoring her plight.

Obsidian only let out a sigh and raised the merchant girl by the neck of her shirt. Only then did she realized what she just did and blushed furiously.

"Now, now. Let's do this in a more appropriate place," Lili's father calmly stated, as Isabella managed to stand up and shake her head to get the dizziness out. She only managed to stumble a little bit, a smile just barely shaking as she threw her thumb over her shoulder.

"Well, we don't have to go far. Follow me." She turned to her daughter, grin in place. "And I missed you too, my little moneymaker.

This only caused Lisa to blush even more, causing the group to laugh. With that done, they followed the merchant. A few minutes later, with Lisa talking her mother's ear off about basically everything, they came to a stop. Obsidian let out a whistle and Lili had to admit that it was justified.

"Renting an entire warehouse? Respect."

It was rather big as well, one of the bigger ones in the area. It was one of the few buildings that was actually made out of stone. It made sense, since important goods at to be stored reliably and stone was more reliable than most wood. If Lili had to guess, eight or so of Obsidian's house could fit in there, with four being the foundation. The gates were closed and to her surprise, she couldn't hear a thing from it.

Anyway, the woman bowed like before at the man.

"Your words honor me, milord."

For some reason, Obsidian's smile fell and it looked like he was about to say something. Instead, he sighed as he rubbed his chest.

"Alrighty, let's meet the team."

Isabella grinned and without further ado, stepped into the busy warehouse after opening the gates with a key. Then she clapped her hands loudly.

"Boys, guess who is here!" She shouted over the noise and all workers, consisting of humans, dwarfes and cat and wolf people of all genders, turned around towards her. When they followed her arm she used to gesture at Obsidian, all of their eyes widened.

Then immediately, they all dropped, or rather gently put down, what they were doing and as if they teleported, knelt before her father in an ordered line, as if they were soldiers.

Not to mention the pure cheer and happiness they radiated as they all shouted at the same time.

"Lord Noir!" "Milord is here!" "One of the Emperors!" "How was your trip?!"

While Lisa and her mother giggled, Lili shared a glance with Welf, both leaning away from the scene with nervous sweating, and nodded at the same time.

Yup. That was freaky as hell.

Then, her gaze moved over to Obsidian, and as expected, he didn't like the attention either. Though instead of exasperation, she was surprised to see his mouth thinned and his left hand curled up into a fist.

And yet again, he rubbed his chest for some reason.

However, the moment vanished as it came, suddenly, and Lili decided it had to be the light playing tricks on her.

Smiling at the group, he raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Easy there. Just your average adventurer here for a job."

Lili raised her eyebrow at her father, then rolled her eyes with a huff. Level six wasn't exactly average, but whatever.

The workers looked at each other, knowing smirks on their face, and raised themselves. Then, they gave their polite greetings and went back to work. During all that, none of them forgot to address him like he was a king.

Though by now, Lili was sure he actually was one and that Obsidian underplayed the amount of influence he had, if that was possible.

Anyway, now that the Pallum was inside, she was surprised by the lack of boxes in here. Sure, there were some crates here in there, but nothing that would warrant a warehouse. And most of them didn't even have anything inside.

Not that it bothered either Obsidian or Isabella, while Welf's and Lisa's eyes slowly widened in realization, before slumping their shoulders.

That was never a good sign, Lili thought dryly.

Either way, reaching the center of the building, Isabella started to unfold a scroll she took out and presented in on top of a crate the group surrounded.

However, midway, Obsidian raised his hand and stopped her.

"Wait," he said cautiously and gestured around. "Everything secure?"

Isabella in turn smiled and nodded.

"Top security. As ordered, only the god of this city knows what we are delivering." She raised a finger and pointed at the closed door, before shaking it as her smile widened. "And we follow the protocols."

Lili's father nodded and Isabella finished unfolding a scroll, revealing a list of items. As the Pallum's eyes glazed over the words, she blinked. Turning to Welf, he shrugged, equally confused.

So she wasn't the only one at the table who had no idea what those words meant. However, after checking the list a second time, her eyes landed on two words that awoke memories in her and Welf grinned like a child on his birthday.

Proto Adamantium. Vibranium Steel.

The metals Lisa once talked about and praised highly. If they were capable of doing the feats she talked about, complete indestructibility and shock absorption and rejection, this would make her mother swim in money.

Still, now that her interest was gained, Lili pointed at the list with a frown.

"No idea what the other items are."

Isabella smiled in a motherly manner and waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, just normal stuff."

It certainly didn't sound normal, though perhaps Boundary was just a whole different world.

Most on the list were household items, useful, but not world breaking. Certain books, ranging from fiction to knowledge, though that wasn't anything new. Household items, some of them using magic to work, like a mixer or a heater. But others were more impressive.

The typing machine sounded useful rather useful, as well as this calculator. Both of these would make the life of a guild member much easier, in terms of doing paperwork.

Alternative power sources, like those "solar cells" were always nice to have.

But those things didn't hold a candle to the last three items, though Welf focused more on the first. Not with as much enthusiasm as with the metals, but still intrigued by the concept.

A "laser rifle". A weapon, that looked like a crossbow, without the cross. Instead, it had a metal tube and the arrow was replaced by a specifically shaped monster crystal. Inserted in the right place, it would shoot out a beam of pure magical energy. It sounded less destructive than a magic sword, but it was easier to produce and still packed enough power to deal with weaker monsters and at least do something useful against bigger ones. Lili wasn't surprised that Welf wasn't that happy about those weapons, but he begrudgingly had to admire the work and thought put into the weapon.

Still, the last two items were bigger world changers in her eyes.

A "phone" and a "camera".

On paper, it was simple. One was used to do long distance communications in a fast manner, either by letter on the "display" or vocally. The other took pictures, as close to the real thing as possible, and saved them. They could even be printed by one of the other items on the list.

Anyway, the inner workings went over Lili's head and Welf only seemed to somewhat understand some of it. However, unlike him, she knew about rhe sheer utility of those things had.

With the camera, one could easily record anything. Monsters? Adventures? Historical places? All of these things could now be accurately shown, not depending on mortal artistic skill anymore.

With the phone, connections could be made easier. Deals could be made faster and people could warn each other faster if they could see a storm brewing or something. Not to mention in battle. No longer would people be so reliant on loud voices or the speed of scouts. If it worked in the dungeon, information could be gathered faster, with less risk of the information getting lost for several reasons.

Lili gulped. These items...

"I sure hope there is more security, because people will kill for this," she whispered in a faint tone, the same dread she felt when she realized the danger that surrounded Bell nowadays.

Anywho, Isabella shook her head with a casual smile.

"Lord Noir is here." She said with confidence and put her hands on her hips. "Not to mention we kept this a secret. As far as anyone is concerned, we are just your average merchants."

"Don't jinx it," Obsidian immediately chided her with a frown and crossed his arms. "Even if my family is good, they aren't perfect. They make mistakes, including myself."

The woman's smile wavered and bowed her head with respect.

"Apologies, milord."

Again, Obsidian rubbed his chest and by now, Lili knew something was off. Was it about the conversation from before? With the expectations?

Biting her lip, the Pallum knew she couldn't talk to him now. All she could do, was squeeze his left hand reassuringly. Glancing at her, he smiled softly.

"How in the hell did you create this?" Welf asked all of a sudden and pointed at the list. "I mean, I have to see it first to believe it, but still!"

In response, Obsidian shrugged casually.

"Luciel Lightbringer has a masters degree in Applied Bullshit."

At that, silence reigned, and this time, Lisa and her mother were not excluded from the club of blank stares filled with incomprehension. Lili's father blinked and sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Mystery, Blacksmith and lots of Intelligence." He paused and tilted his head left and right, a bit unsure. "Well, Blacksmith was not all on her, but she did most of the job."

While the Boundary natives let out an understanding "ah", Welf gaped openly while the Pallum sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

The entire Gaia Family was filled with geniuses in their own right, Lili just knew. Then she noticed something and turned to her father with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, why don't you have those items?"

In turn, Obsidian shrugged nonchalantly.

"We didn't want Boundary to gain attention to soon and we didn't have a reliable infrastructure here yet." He waved his hand in boredom. "Besides, I don't really need a phone to communicate with my family and I don't believe in cameras."

Lili's eyebrows moved further up, hidden by her hair now.

"Why?" She asked in a confused tone and Obsidian shrugged yet again.

"Not my thing." He then raised his own eyebrow at her. "What, you wanna have one?"  
The Pallum blushed a bit and scratched her cheek with a light giggle.

"Making pictures would be nice..." She muttered. Then, she felt a hand on her head. Looking up, she saw Obsidian ruffle her head with a grin. She pouted in turn, but made no movements smacking the arm away.

Well, she needed to figure out how to use a camera then. Her grin fell when she realized something.

"You said this quest would take several days. Why?" She asked, knowing full well that the way back didn't take any longer.

"Because the ship will arrive in several days." Obsidian replied dryly after removing his hand and looking into the round. "We will stand here and guard it. We guard it when they double check everything and then we guard it on the way to Orario."

Lili's eyes widened, now understanding her team's previous reaction. Speaking of which, their current reaction was groaning.

"Damn, I knew it..." Lisa muttered, clicking her tongue, before her voice gained a whining tone. "It sounds boring!"

Obsidian's eye twitched in annoyance before he sucked in air through his teeth.

"What is it with people and jinxing shit?" He pointed at the team. "If we get ambushed, I have full beat up rights."

"You mean mocking rights...right?" Welf asked with a raised hand, nervously chuckling. Obsidian's flat stare made him stop very quickly.

"I know what I said."

The trio's head fell and Isabella's mother didn't help them feel better at all. So much for excitement. Naturally, Obsidian had to say the most cliché thing ever as well. Looking around, he had a lazy grin on his face.

"Anyone got some cards?"

"We have Monopoly," Isabella said politely at his casual request and Welf raised his eyebrow at that.

"What is that?"

"A merchant game, so no deal," Obsidian cut in before Lisa's mother could explain. Then, he turned to her, pointing with a finger. "You got Uno?"

"Boring choice, but as you wish," she said with a shrug and pulled out a deck of cards out of her pocket.

"You never played Uno, did you?" Obsidian asked amused and rubbed his hands together. "With special rules?"

At that, the woman blinked, before sighing and putting her hand on her right cheek.

"Oh dear."

Immediately, Lili raised her arm with a neutral face.

"Can't we chill at the beach in the south?" She asked politely and got an incredulous look as a response.

"What under 'guard duty' don't you people understand?" He asked in disbelief, making quotation marks with his fingers when he said guard duty, before turning to the merchant girl, authority in his eyes. "Lisa, you patrol first. I gotta explain the rules to them."

Lisa's shoulders slumped down and groaned.

"Aye, aye..."

"I'll come with you for now. We still need to catch up."

Immediately, she perked up at her mother's warm request and hugged her arm as she literally dragged the woman away. At the same time, Obsidian cleared his throat to gain their attention, already mixing the cards. The Pallum rolled her eyes after sharing a suffering glance with Welf.

"Gods, I hope Bell has a better time than us," Lili muttered before sitting down as chairs were provided to them.

Meanwhile, a certain rabbit got kicked in the face yet again. This time, he at least managed to stay conscious AND didn't suffer from a concussion, so the Sword Princess actually improved in holding back.

* * *

 **Between Boundaries 10.3**

The Pallum knew it wasn't polite, the way she leaned her cheek into her right hand, her left hand lazily holding her cards, but by the gods, she did not care. The last few days, they have done nothing but patrol or play cards. She couldn't believe it, but she was missing the bitch that was the dungeon.

At the very least, she could get a proper workout done, unlike here. Obsidian prohibited them from even doing sparring because they had to "stay focused". Lili wanted to tell him where to shove his focus in, but she knew he had a point. Therefore, she tried to suffer through the boredom that was Uno.

At the beginning, it was somewhat fun. And with that, it was fun to see other people freak out in various ways when they had to draw cards before they could win the game or even switch a winning hand to a terrible hand.

One of her favorite reactions had to be Welf's. One card away from Uno and the other three players, two of the team that weren't on patrol and Isabella, pretty much comboed him into taking half a dozen cards. Suffice to say, he gave up by not even bothering to draw and instead slam his head against the crate a couple of times, before going away and sulking around in a corner.

Still, the game lost its charm rather quickly and the adventurers didn't have much to do. Since they were stuck with guard duty, they weren't even allowed to walk around too far away from the warehouse. In case of Lisa and Welf, neither of them could sell or forge stuff respectively, so the three of them were just lying or sitting around, clearly bored out of their mind. Hell, they had to sleep in the same warehouse as well. The...make shift beds only did so much for her poor back.

They could have helped with the preparation of the warehouse and the delivery...if it weren't already all finished up a day after they arrived. Thus, there was nothing left to occupy them with.

Lisa and Welf sat next to each other, leaning against the wall as they stared at the ceiling and talked about prices weapons could have. Lili was not interested in that, so she spent her time lying on her stomach on an empty crate, that was on the left of their crate, her legs lightly kicking around in the air.

Her father was currently patrolling the outside, though since they were the same routes, not much excitement there either. Because of all of that, she let out a long suffering sigh and decided to state one simple fact.

"This is the most boring mission in the world," the Pallum drawled out and turned around on her back, her legs hanging around limply. Her two teammates let out an agreeing, equally bored, "hm", as their shoulders slumped.

In that moment, their client entered the hall and made her way towards them, a pitying smile on her face. When she got close enough, she crossed her arms and tilted her head.

"Well, I could tell you a bit about Boundary's history and culture."

Their reactions were instant. Lili shot up and sat down on her crate, leaning forward with folded hands with a hopeful expression. At the same time, the other two straightened up their backs and leaned forward as well.

"Please do," Welf begged and Lisa nodded.

"I already know it, but I take anything," she said in a pained voice. Her mother giggled and sat down in front of them. Crossing her legs, she clapped her hands together and pressed her lips together in thought.

"Well...I'll be blunt." She giggled awkwardly and scratched her right cheek a bit. "We...used to be somewhat barbaric, compared to our modern times now."

Lili raised her eyebrow at that and Welf tilted his head. That sounded rather weird, especially after hearing about all those inventions.

"I can see your confusion," Isabella replied with a smile. Then, she closed her eyes after taking a deep breath. "To be fair, we didn't live like cavemen or anything, but...tribal life was more common than usual. I met my fair share myself, back when Lisa was a little girl."

The mother gave her daughter a teasing grin. The latter blushed and looked away, causing Welf to snicker at her quietly. However, Lili crossed her arms with a frown. She knew about the whole "tribe" thing that was going on back in the old days, but the way she phrased it…

The Pallum tilted her head.

"You make it sound like you weren't part of them."

"I wasn't," Isabella confirmed, sounding rather pleased as she crossed her arms and nodded. "I am one of the few city born people of Boundary. Well, less cities and more fortresses scattered across the lands. Still a lot more secure, advanced and all that compared to the tribes that were kept outside due to lack of space." Her smile fell and she sighed, shaking her head. "Suffice to say, it caused frictions and cultivated the mentality of 'us versus them', doing everything to survive."

That caused Lili and Welf to widen their eyes. Both of them had heard about the monster problem and lack of deities to give blessings around. Hearing that stationary settlements, from which cities spawned, existed in such dangerous territory, they were naturally surprised.  
Lisa on the other hand didn't seem that impressed, but Lili took it for granted, being native and hearing about this stuff herself. Maybe even seen herself.

"How were there cities? I mean, I can imagine the tribes, but the cities go a bit over my head, from what I heard," Welf asked, crossing his arms. The merchant folded her hands and nodded with a smile.

"Understandable. Lord Noir told you about the monster problem?" When both the Pallum and the blacksmith grunted out their confirmation, Isabella stood up and put her hands behind her back as she began to wander around in the small circle they had. "Well, without any...gods..." She trailed off and Lili could see a flash of a deep frown on her face. It vanished as it came, quickly, and the woman smiled at them again as she turned to them. "We had to rely on powerful warriors. Veteran hunters, sword fighters, all the like, that were the foundation of those cities." She let out a sigh, letting out an awkward cough as she scratched the back of her head. "It also created a sort of… caste system."

The word made Lili narrow her eyes instantly and she couldn't help but grit her teeth. Welf frowned as well, but he didn't have the same intensity as she had, as memories of the past flowed into her head, that could be defined as a caste system itself.

Naturally, she was not pleased to hear that about Boundary, as she took a deep breath and pressed her lips together.

"That does not sound great," she said in a flat tone and the two Boundary natives winced at her tone. Even Welf blinked at her in surprise, but she didn't care too much. Still, she did her best to reign in the bad memories and after a short while, she visibly calmed down, her grip on her arms lessened.

Once she was visibly relaxed, Isabella leaned against a wall to their right and looked down on the ground with a sad expression.

"It wasn't, but it was justified." She raised her right hand in defense when Lili bristled up and received a stern expression, making the girl back down in shame. "After all, those who contributed the most for the safety of those cities, they would deserve the most luxury." Isabella gave them a small shrug. "Naturally, the defenses weren't perfect. Casualties still happened, but the walls held."

Lili's mouth thinned at the image. Hour long fights, with only their experience and suboptimal weapons they had, against hordes of monsters or singular titans hammering against their walls. The relief of repelling such threats, only to have to wait for the next...

It wasn't greed or pride that motivated them. It was despair. Lili could understand that. With this in mind, she calmed her mind and then leaned forward, hands gripping the edge of the crate she was sitting on.

"Where do you fit in?" She asked quietly and Isabella chuckled warmly as she gestured around with her arms wide open.

"There is a reason I work at this port." She pointed at her chest. "It's in my blood and history."

"Port city, then?" Welf guessed, hands folded behind his head and the mother nodded.

"Yup." Clapping her hands together, she sat back down on the crate she previously occupied. "Though the ships rarely went to other continents, due to the dangers around Boundary, fishing near the shore and selling in towards the inland was an important job. Being part of organizing it and being a merchant gave me a solid middle spot in the hierarchy."

Lili let out an impressed grunt. That was interesting and made sense to her. With monsters on the lands, agriculture would have limited success. Therefore, fishing and limited trade with other, nearby islands or other shores of Boundary, were the second best thing they had. The rarity of reaching other continents would also explain the scarce information Orario had on Boundary to begin with.

Either way, the woman took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as she leaned back.

"Anyway...development based on monster crystals was limited. The crystals we did get our hands on, were used on the essentials. No time for advancement, when survival was in the front of our minds. At most, they were used for weapons. Otherwise, they were used as energy resources in order to survive the winters." Letting out a sigh, she shook her head. "Because of that...we were a stagnating civilization, if you could call it that. Splintered as well."

Welf let out a sympathizing wince and even Lisa seemed sad about the knowledge. Lili could see that, as she bit her lips. One couldn't call something like that living or a proper country.

Still, she couldn't help but smile, knowing that was in the past.

"But that changed ten years ago, didn't it?" She asked in a knowing and warm tone and the merchant nodded almost ecstatically at the Pallum.

"Indeed!" She exclaimed and couldn't help but giggle as she covered her mouth with her right hand. "The ones we would call many titles arrived. Saviors. Demons. Guardians..." Removing her hand, she bowed dramatically, spreading her arms out. "But in the end, we settled on Emperors."

Emperor. For some reason, seeing her father with that title, Lili couldn't help but feel it seemed...wrong.

"Why Emperors though? Do they decide everything?" Welf asked, raising his hand as he tilted his head. This time, Isabella hesitated a bit, but Lisa shot her arm up like an arrow, taking over for a moment.

"They have assigned councils. But most of the time they, and by extension the people, go with whatever they are saying," she explained, twirling with her right hand when everyone looked at her. Lili couldn't help but raise her eyebrow.

"Sounds kinda dangerous," she admitted. Considering she lived with one of them and saw how he was, she knew for a fact that her father wasn't perfect. The shield girl's response was to shrug casually.

"Eh, we have faith in them."

Even Lisa's mother gave her a flat stare, causing the girl to blush. Rolling her eyes, the merchant smiled politely at Welf and Lili.

"Besides, they are teaching the council the ropes in order for Boundary to become less dependent on them." She closed her eyes and nodded a few times. "After all, they do deserve to return to their old days as simple adventurers."

The Pallum's eyes widened as a memory resurfaced.

 _It reminded me of old days._

There was a reason Obsidian left Boundary. A reason he disliked his current self. Because he was a simple man, who was not suited for being an Emperor. He did it because his country needed one, not because he wanted to.

And an adventurer was more in line with being a hero than a leader of a country. Lili tried her best not to show her sadness and instead put up a fake smile, as she leaned forward with interest.

"So what exactly did they do?" She asked with only minor twitches to hide her emotions. No one seemed to notice, as they focused on the merchant, who let out a quiet chuckle.

"What didn't they do?" She asked in a good natured tone and raised her hands to count. "They united Boundary, making sure that the 'us' stands for the civilized people, of all races, and the 'them' are the mindless monsters. They removed the Caste System and made sure that everyone would be able to contribute. Not to mention the organized armies, the teamwork and pushing our mentality to focus on improvement, not only on survival..." She waved with her hands and then put them on her lap as she smiled softly. "They basically created Boundary as it is today. Considering it only took them a decade, and that they were not that old when they started, it is truly a miracle."

Hearing her count off his accomplishments in detail, Lili couldn't help but feel awe for her father, that she barely managed to restrain from becoming hero worship. Having everything he had done, summed up like that...it was amazing that Lili sometimes forgot that his strength and level were not for show. Glancing at her teammates, she could see Welf's wide eyes and respect, while Lisa even seemed to swoon a bit at the information.

Lili hoped for her friend that it was out of completely platonic reasons. Before she could make her displeasure known, as she frowned, Isabella's words got her attention again.

"Though I still wonder where they even came from..."

Barely muttered, the Pallum still caught the words and turned at the mother with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh?"

The merchant blinked and giggled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head.

"Well, it's just that they-"

She never got to finish her words. The moment as she was about to finish, the doors to the warehouse opened in a blast, almost blowing them off the hinges. Startled, the adventurers jumped up, weapons drawn in a second, and with sweat running down their skin, they were combat ready.

For just a moment, because they instantly relaxed when they saw who it was.

"Knock knock, privacy police here," Obsidian commented dryly, as he put his right foot down on the ground after his front kick.

Suffice to say, Lili was peeved at the interruption and the scare. However, only Welf shared her reaction, as Isabella sheathed her dagger (whenever she pulled that one out) and immediately bowed in apology, followed by literally everyone else who came from Boundary.

"My apologies, milord!"

"Save it," Obsidian waved Isabella off and threw his thumb over his shoulder. "Goods are here."

The change was sudden and a full one eighty. The merchant immediately raised her back and turned around to her subordinates with fire in her eyes as she clapped her hands together a few times.  
"Alright, boys! You heard him! All hands on deck!"

With that, they went to work, rushing out to carry the bundled up items in. They were stored inside smaller boxes as well, which in turn were stacked inside the crates. Being on guard duty, the four adventurers kept an eye on their surroundings. However, Lili couldn't help but be curious, as she eyes a crate right to her left.

In the end, old habits die hard.

She reached her hand towards the crates-

Only for another hand to grab her right arm rather tightly. Looking up in surprise, she saw Obsidian smirking at her as he pulled her away from it. Then, he raised his right finger in front of his mouth.

"No looking. Secret, remember?"

The Pallum did not pout at her father and his laughing was completely unjustified. Still, Lili didn't feel particular angry.

After all, this boring mission was finally going to be finished.

* * *

 **Between Boundaries 10.4**

Lili couldn't believe that she missed sitting inside the carriage, doing absolutely nothing, but here she was, walking with her two feet with such a carriage to her right, and regretting exactly that. Letting out a sigh, she twirled her naginata in her right hand. The Pallum was bored, but she didn't show it on her face, instead glancing around, checking her surroundings dutifully. She could be professional, after all. However...

Nothing was happening.

Sure, on the way here, she didn't expect anything to happen, since they were a small group riding a carriage and nobody sane would ambush adventurers without seeing enough loot to warrant the risk. But today, they were actually escorting lots and lots of valuable goods. Even if the secrecy did the trick, merchants were always juicy targets, regardless of the security. As a matter of fact, considering how large the caravan was, the four adventurers couldn't cover all areas, as far as Lili was concerned. Their line was about half or more of the length of a Loki expedition, if she had to guess. As fast as Obsidian might have been, he wouldn't be able to be on all fronts at once, if they got surrounded. But they did the best out of it, with Lisa at the front with her mother and the few weapons they have received, Welf far in the back with the utility items and Lili with Obsidian roughly in the middle, where the phones were located.

Anyway, nothing was happening, despite all the items in the caravan or the gaps in their defense.

Sure, the merchants talked with each other animatedly and Lili herself did some small talk, but there was not a single sign of danger. She shouldn't wish for it, but she knew better than to expect that the whole escort thing would go this smoothly.

Not to mention her father, she thought dryly as she glanced to her left, looking at Obsidian. The teacher did not rest his eyes for a single moment, as his eyes went all over the place, never resting as he consistently assessed the area and looked for threats. His body was relaxed, but only for the purpose to jump into action at any moment.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at this.

"Dad, you are making me paranoid," she muttered annoyed, letting the naginata rest in her hand, having stopped the spinning. Obsidian simply gave her an amused smile.

"Good," he said and tapped the right side of his head. "Keeps your senses sharp."

"There is a limit to how sharp they can be!" Lili snarked back and punched his arm, causing him to laugh in a light manner. She rolled her eyes and was about to relax after the banter, when Obsidian suddenly stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. Without missing a beat, he whipped his head around, before clicking his tongue and taking a deep breath.

"Stop!"

His shout caused the entire caravan to stop from one moment to another. Honestly, Lili was impressed, raising an eyebrow at the obedience. Anyway, when everyone and everything came to a stop, the air was tense as she looked around like the other merchants to see what the fuss was about. Then, the bushes rustled and she saw what Obsidian noticed. Walking out, slowly, humans of both genders and amazons came out, brandishing weapons or cracking their knuckles, emotions ranging from neutrality to straight up glee.

Bandits. Thieves. Scum. Bastards with no hobbies. Whatever they wanted to call themselves. Anyway, they did at the very least look threatening, with some of them even wearing scars for extra intimidation effect. It did made the merchants nervous, from what little glances Lili made during the standoff. However, she didn't feel nervous per se. Instead, she rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"About damn time, you assholes!" She shouted, at the same time as her father who spread his arms open impatiently. The two of them shared a small glance, both frowning, and nodded in agreement.

"Lord Noir, you should really watch your language around Lili!" Lisa shouted from the front, her cheerful voice strained at the prospect of being surrounded. The other merchants and even some bandits stared at her and her father in an incredulous manner. But Lili didn't care, as she raised her naginata over her head with a frown, ready for combat.

Meanwhile, Obsidian cracked his neck as he took a few steps forward. Then, he faced the sky after clearing his throat.

"We handle this! But if things go south, do your thing!" He ordered the caravan and instantly the clients straightened up their backs.

"Understood, milord!" They shouted at once, startling the bandits a bit. But they gathered themselves, instead letting out low growls or making noise with their weapons to psyche themselves up. Anyway, that was everything Obsidian said as he crossed his arms, waiting patiently, with the intent to speak with the leaders. After all, it was the only thing left before a fight broke out, since there was no need to give orders to the adventurers. The team already knew their roles: Stay where they were and protect the area.

Naturally, the thugs realized what he wanted and two individuals stepped forward, radiating a different aura from the random bandits. Lili couldn't help but sweat a little bit as her grip intensified.

One was heavily armored, something that wasn't common inside Orario. Full plate, silver armor, a helmet with a red pony tail that covered his face, only leaving a few slits for seeing and a large broadsword, the size of Lili.

On his left, a jarring different looking woman stood there. An amazon, scarcely dressed like most of their race as she showed off her bronze skin to the world that wasn't covered by the red fabric, like on her private parts. She coyly tapped her bare shoulder with a simple, but sturdy looking spear. Despite the thin veil covering her face, Lili could easily see the feral grin on it.

The knight let out a sigh as he pointed with the sword at Obsidian, easily carrying it with his right arm.

"Look, let's skip the pleasantries," he said condescendingly, voice echoing, and gestured with his head at the carriages. "You give us your stuff and we won't hurt you too badly."

Obsidian in turn scratched his chin a little but, letting out a small hum. Then he crossed his arms.

"Hm. Allow me to retort."

Then, he snapped his eyes open as he let out a quick huff. As if an arrow was shot, a shiver went down Lili's spine as he did so. Glancing around and seeing the pale faces and nervous sweating intensifying, she didn't imagine it. His killing intent, that was.

However, the two people in front of her, who she assumed were the leaders, didn't even bat an eyebrow. Though the armored man could have hidden any fear through his helmet, the amazon did not have such an advantage, fully revealing what she thought about Obsidian's intimitation tactic.

Shaking her head with amusement, she mockingly raised an eyebrow at him as she gestured at herself.

"That scare us?" She drawled in broken Koine and let out a low chuckle. "Goblins scarier."

For a moment, Obsidian clicked his tongue, his body tensing a little. But it vanished quickly, as he rolled his eyes with a sigh and cracked his knuckles at his hips.

"Fine, I'll beat you up without you pissing your pants," he growled out. This was the starting sound of the battle, as the two enemies immediately moved.

One moment, they stood in front of Obsidian, listening to his words. The next moment, they become a blur, their weapons swung back, before being more or less thrown at the veteran in high speed.

However, they were not the only ones who were fast.

With a focused expression, the man raised his left arm to knock the sword away from him, while his left hand stayed low to catch the spear aimed at his stomach. Then, he spun on his feet, using his momentum to throw the spear plus amazon against the knight. However, the amazon jumped into the air, diverting the path of the spear, while the armored warrior moved with the knocked away sword, swaying to his right to narrowly avoid the attack. Clicking his tongue, Obsidian let go of the spear before putting up his arms in a guard position. Meanwhile the amazon landed gracefully on her feet, with her spear already combat ready in both of her hands, aimed at the Gaian adventurer, while the knight quickly raised himself again with heavy breath, sword held in front of himself. Already, there was a visible gap in skill between the two of them and Obsidian raised his eyebrow after shaking his hands a little bit.

"Level five and three," he commented intrigued before cracking his thumps with the rest of the respective fingers. Then he tilted his head at Lili. "You take care of the rest."

With those words, he dashed forward, forcing the earth under his left foot to give in. His palms slammed into the faces of the two leaders, their eyes widening in surprise, before carrying them off gods knew where.

Lili sweatdropped at that, before taking a deep breath to look at the rest of rather pissed bandits.

"I hope Lord Noir meant that they are weaker than me," Lili muttered in a dry tone.

Then, her battle began.

A scarred with a black mop for hair roared as he swung down his axe on her head. With a neutral expression, Lili exhaled as she swung her blade down, before readjusting her left grip in order to rotate the shaft in order to knock the enemy weapon away to the right. Stopping her spinning weapon as her opponent stumbled past her, she rammed the naginata on the ground, before using it as leverage to jump up and knee the man in the face.

Using the momentum, she extended her right leg to kick the face for good measure, before landing on him. Then, she transformed her weapon into a hammer and swung the hammer from behind her shoulder, over her head and down on the wide eyed, dagger wielding cat girl. The blonde couldn't dodge in time and got smacked into the ground with an audible crack.

With foot steps behind her, Lili turned Liberty into the dagger, letting out a deep breath as she waited as if she was resting. When the steps became louder however, she snapped around and immediately analyzed the situation.

Amazon, curved blade, aimed to slash her down from the upper right diagonal angle.

Seeing that, quickly threw the dagger into her left hand and she raised her arms to intercept the blow. While it had some strength, Lili could handle it with relative ease and quickly dashed forward, creating sparks with their blades, and cut the enemy at the stomach.

Feeling her stats growing, feeling her with strength, Lili couldn't help but grin slightly. This was going well!

Quickly, her grin faded and she rolled forward when her ears picked up something cutting through the air with considerable speed. Jumping a bit, she turned around with a frown. Of course the moment she thought it was going well, something had to happen. But this time she was prepared at the slightly more armored woman with a similar helmet as one of the ring leaders to come at her with a war cry. With a rapier, she stabbed at her in rapid speed, which Lili had some difficulty to parry with her dagger at first, while her skill still needed to warm up. The girl reached one conclusion.

Level two, at least.

The distaste had to be visible on her face, because underneath the helmet, the woman smiled condescendingly.

"Orario doesn't have a monopoly on gods, bitch!"

With a roar, she suddenly slashed with her weapon against Lili's left cheek. Wide eyed, Lili quickly tilted her head away as she ducked and the blade barely cut her hair. Clicking her tongue, the Pallum used the momentum and aimed a low sweep with her left leg at the enemy.

"Not a dog girl!" She shouted and kicked the legs away from the woman. Quickly, Lili used her naginata to stab down after creating some distance with a few steps. However, the woman rolled away in safety, no damage done by the kick. Jumping up, the two females glared at each other, both combat ready. The knight, with a formal one handed fencing stance, and Lili with her right hand on her weapon, the naginata creating a straight parallel to her right arm. When the woman grinned, Lili blinked in confusion, before realization dawned.

They were not the only ones fighting and judging from the battle sounds behind her, she confirmed two things. One, she got rather far away from her original spot. Two, a fight broke out behind her. However, she didn't panic, because the screams were purely those of combat. Nothing sounded desperate or pleading. And from the few noises she didn't recognize, followed by startled yelps, the Boundary merchants decided to dish out their hidden tricks, just like they were ordered to. Because of that, Lili grin at the fading grin of her enemy.

"Guess this isn't going as smoothly as you hoped for!" The Pallum yelled as she dashed forward, intent on hammering the dagger down on the woman's neck or throat, whatever came first. Sadly, her reflexes were good enough to raise her weapon and push against Liberty with gritted teeth.

"Shut up, midget!"

With that said, they both jumped away from each other and began to cut away at each other, rapier vs naginata. It went back and forth with none of them getting a proper hit in. Though while Lili could ramp up a little bit, gaining an advantage over her, the female knight managed to force Lili to take a hit. While it didn't take her out of the fight, it caused Lili to grit her teeth as the feedback of losing her boost made itself known every time. Because of that, she hadn't used Static yet, since she was surrounded by enemies and using up too much energy was the reason she almost died during her level up to begin with.

Still, even without her magic, they were even. Aside from the occasional hit that would at most leave a bruise, the two of them weaved around each other. A slash was blocked and followed by a counter kick to create distance. A stab was knocked away in order to close that distance.

Frustration build up in Lili and she knew the feeling was mutual. However, she forced it down and continued to probe her enemy for any holes in the defense.

However, before either of the two could finish it, after what felt like minutes of fighting, a loud horn sounded in the air.

Before Lili could wonder what that was, her enemy literally dashed away without giving her a second look. While the Pallum felt offended at being ignored so suddenly, she knew better than to chase after her. Instead, she quickly made her way back to the caravan. Though she became more and more confused at the fact that the other bandits, though she wasn't sure the term fit anymore with the powerful people they had, ran as if hell itself was after them. She frowned, a bad feeling welled up in her stomach, but she repressed it as she came to a stop in front of the carriage she was assigned to, looking none the worse to wear, including the merchants assigned to it. They were very out of breath, but aside from the scrapes and dirt, they looked fine and satisfied with themselves. As Lili grinned, she saw Obsidian arrive from her eye corners and let out a sigh of relief at seeing him unharmed.

Her father cracked his neck, blinking a few times as he let out a satisfied groan at a loud crack.

"Alright, that was actually kinda tough," he admitted and shook his head a bit. Lili raised an eyebrow at that, taking a closer look at his appearance.

"You look a bit frizzled."

She could spot his skin through the gaps his bandages created, as they were somewhat out of order. It still covered everything but his naked arms, but it wasn't smooth at all. Honestly, it kinda looked like it had the consistency of sand paper.

Anyway, Obsidian waved his hand with a minor frown.

"Level five isn't a cake walk. And the level three was annoying enough with his supporting role. Stupid healing magic..." Spitting at the ground, he crossed his arms at them. "Everything okay on your side?"

"Some got through, but we managed," Lili answered truthfully with the merchants nodding before checking on the item stock. At the same time, her teammates and Lisa's mother jogged over to them, looking tired and sweaty, but still fine. But just to be sure, the Pallum crossed her arms at them.

"You guys alright?"

"Kinda tough, but we got through. I threw my mighty shield," Lisa said with a wide grin and raised her thumb. Isabella giggled at her daughter and raised her thumb as well.

"And they knew how to yield," she added with a rhyme and instantly, they laughed when Obsidian groaned as he palmed his face, muttering something about hating Braniac. Ignoring her father, Lili turned to Welf who rubbed his left arm with a slight wince.

"What about you, Welf?" She asked with some concern, but he waved her off with a lazy grin.

"The other merchants really had my back there." His grin faded as he glared at the merchant women and Obsidian. "You Boundary guys are really holding out on us, aren't you?"

While the bandaged man remained impassive, Isabella coughed awkwardly.

"Kinda?"

Lisa on the other hand raised her hands in defense.

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't have access to that stuff. Blessing and all that."

Welf's flat look made it clear he didn't believe her, but before a discussion or more could break out, Obsidian clapped his hands, before pointing at the head merchant with folded hands,

"How's the stock?"

Instantly, the woman smoothed over her features and spoke with a professional tone.

"We are checking the stock at the moment, but so far-"

"L-Lord Noir!"

The nervous voice made the group turn around at a timid looking man, maybe twenty at most, who scratched his somewhat spiky brown hair nervously. Obsidian nodded in acknowledgment, however that only caused the man the flinch as he averted his eyes.

"They...managed to steal the crate with the two phones in them we wanted to use for demonstration..." He muttered and bowed down with shame written all over his face. "I-I am so-"

However, he didn't manage to finish as the leader of Boundary put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up again.

"Phones aren't worth your life. You did your best," Obsidian said in a quiet, but firm tone. Gulping, the merchant nodded, before moving away to help with the stock assessment. Lili frowned at her father.

Considering his neutral expression, Lili had to admit that he was a bit too relaxed considering they got robbed.

"You don't seem mad at all," she stated and received a shrug as an answer.

"I have my reasons," he said in a relaxed tone. While Lili was dissatisfied at the answer, he turned to their client. "You know what to do."

"Amp up security in order to protect Boundary," she confirmed and the two of them nodded. Then, the mother took her daughter back to the front, while Welf sighed, before returning to his post as well. The moment they were alone and the caravan started moving again, Lili leaned forward as she looked at her father's right side.

"Seriously, why aren't you mad?" Lili asked with a frown. Obsidian simply stared at her, before shrugging.

"Meh."

"Don't you 'meh' me!" The girl yelled and pouted when her father didn't even look at her when he replied with a dry tone.

"I'm not your mommy."

"How lame was that?!" Lili punched him on the arm, only causing him to laugh loudly at her.

"Ah, finally back..." Lisa muttered and the Pallum couldn't help but share the relief as they and the caravan entered through the open gates of Orario. As much of a change the whole quest was, Lili would just love to get right back to her usual schedule in Orario. Maybe Obsidian intended this, so that she would appreciate the dungeon city more. If that was the case, she hoped some hits he got during the assault stung at least a little bit, even if it were just a fraction from the bruise she had on her face.

Her thoughts came to a stop when she spotted a familiar figure, leaning against a house wall and her eyes widened when she realized who it was. With a smile, she jogged forward, moving past the carriages and merchants making their way into the city. Coming to a stop in front of the dwarf, she bowed politely.

"Gareth! What are you doing here?" She asked, tilting her head as she raised herself again, eliciting a warm chuckle from him as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What, can't an old dwarf like me meet a junior of the family?" He asked before leaning forward with a warm grin. "You doing okay?"

Lili smiled back, as she heard footsteps behind her, probably her team and Obsidian catching up to her.

From all the executives, Gareth Landrock was perhaps the one she spent the least time around. Still, it didn't mean she didn't like him. His good natured, fatherly like manner made her feel at home in the manor and he was reliable at various things, like answering questions when he was available or even helping out in minor things.

Anyway, she shrugged casually in response.

"Got attacked by bandits, but they weren't much of a problem." She paused and blinked with a frown. "Relatively."

The dwarf stared at her for a moment, before turning his head at her companions. Both Welf and Lisa wiggled with their hands, making uncertain noises, while Obsidian shrugged without care. Gareth himself nodded and let out a loud laugh.

"Hahaha, as expected! Good that you fit right in with the Loki Family!" Glancing at the carriages, he put his hands on his hips with an appreciating grunt. "Can't wait to see what you guys brought into the city."

Almost instantly, Lisa threw her left arm around Lili, as she leaned forward with a blank expression, looking into Gareth's eyes.

"Everyone pays equally for it in this city." She paused before throwing a thumb over her right shoulder. "Well, except for Lord Noir."

As the Pallum pushed Lisa away after some difficulty, the dwarf crossed his arms, humming contemplatively.

"Hm, gotta talk to Riveria for this one then," he muttered, scratching his chin as he nodded to himself.

"She does look like the financial one in your little trio of old people," Obsidian commented, agreeing with the dwarf. However, for some reason, Gareth stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. At the same time, Welf and Lisa snickered behind Lili's back for the same, weird reasons Lili coudn't fathom.

In the end, the dwarf shrugged with a small grin.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that."

Obsidian tilted his head, at the same time as his daughter. The two of them blinked in confusion, but in the end shrugged. Lili wondered what he actually meant. But that was a thought for another day.

"So, what did we miss?" She asked as she crossed her arms. Gareth's smile fell then, a serious expression replacing it as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, some stuff has to be discussed in private. Reason why I'm here, little lady. To get you to the manor as soon as possible," he explained in a quiet tone and the Pallum frowned slightly, her chest tightening as she mused over the words. Still, she decided to push it away for now and focus on the other message Gareth's words meant.

"And the other stuff?" She asked in concern and the dwarf cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, how to put this..." He glanced at Lisa, who tilted her head in response. "You better go back to your family or else your goddess will freak out more than she already does, girl."

Eyes widening, Lisa stepped forward with a snarl, holding the dwarf at his collar. Despite not able to raise him, she still managed to show her inner turmoil as the fabric threatened to tear off.

"Did something happen to my goddess?! Or Bell?!"

While Lili didn't approve of her frantic screaming, she couldn't help but share Lisa's worry. Sure, Hestia tended to overreact when it came to her children, from what the Pallum could see, but the way Gareth phrased it made it sound serious. To her and Lisa's relief, he calmly raised his hands.

"Relax, they're safe. It's just..." He bit his lips, averting his eyes as if trying to figure out the right words. In the end, he shrugged and smiled slightly. "The lad fought a minotaur and won, while Aiz did the same with Udaeus. Both leveled up, but are also pretty resting from that stuff."

The silence between them was deafening. Obsidian stiffened up behind her, but Lili was too busy processing the words to care.

A minotaur was a solid level two monster, that could tear a level one apart. Udaeus was even worse than that in comparison. It was a Monster Rex on the 37th floor that often required a proper expedition force to safely beat. Even as ridiculous as Bell and Aiz were in their own regard, doing what they did was essentially attempted suicide.

Suffice to say, she wasn't pleased. Lisa shared her opinion, as she let out a deep growl after removing her hands from Gareth.

"I am going to murder him," she muttered angrily and Lili nodded to that.

"And I'm going to murder her." She ran her hand over her hair. "How irresponsible is that, soloing powerful monsters?!"

"Didn't you take on an army by yourself?" Welf asked in a skeptical tone, crossing his arms as he stood to her left. Lili glared at him and his casualness.

"Not completely by free will, Welf!" She shouted at him. The blacksmith raised his hands in defense, backing off slightly with a small smirk. Lili clicked her tongue at that, but before she could say more, Gareth let out a small hum as he scratched his beard.

"Speaking of which, you know why the boy leveled up so fast?" He asked in a curios tone and immediately, the trio glanced at each other nervously.

"W-well..." Lisa began, scratching the back of her head sheepishly and Lili couldn't fault her for this. After all, Liaris Freese was meant to be kept a secret. And as much as she trusted the executive, they were in open space. The group probably should delay this at the very least, but the Pallum wasn't sure if they shouldn't just brush it off either. Because of that, she decided to turn to her father as a last resort.

Lili looked back at Obsidian, about to signal him to take over, when she froze, her eyes widening in shock as the world around her grew quiet and her vision became narrowed, as she quickly ignored the world around her.

He rubbed his chest again. But unlike before, it was like he tried to claw his chest open to get to his heart. Obsidian hyperventilated, hunched over as he held his hands above his heart, as if he was stabbed through it. His eyes were clenched shut, as if he tried to ignore the world around him. After a short while, he stopped the scratching, instead clutching the bandages that weren't slightly damage into a fist. This snapped Lili out of her daze and she took a careful step forward, her right hand slightly shaking as she reached out for him, with her voice barely a whisper.

"Dad? You oka-"

As if she activated a magic sword, her words set him off. His eyes snapped open, tears falling down.

Then, he let out an enraged scream as he rammed his right fist into the ground. It instantly gave in as the hand dug into it, creating a small shockwave that made Lili stumbled a bit. She managed to keep standing, but the cracks originating from the source were big enough that she almost fell down from the sight itself. Naturally, the people around were startled at minimum and all the eyes were on Lili's father. However, he didn't care when he looked up at the Pallum.

This time, his eyes were filled with wrath. So much rage, ready to burst at anything that gave him an excuse. With fear in her eyes, she stepped away from him. This snapped Obsidian out of it, as he blinked in confusion, before horror dawned on him. Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath as he freed his hand from the ground.

Straightening himself up, he let the air out he held in and turned his back to them. Immediately, shame welled up in the Pallum's chest for her reaction and immediately left the side of her teammates as she moved forward. But she only took a single step forward when he turned his head slightly to her.

"I'll be back. Don't wait for me and...do whatever," he whispered in a tired tone. It tore her heart to hear it and she gathered her courage to move forward regardless.

"Wai-"

But a single glare from Obsidian and all that courage crumpled. Stopping as if paralyzed, Lili gave her father a pleading look. But in the end, the man closed his eyes and shook his head in a somber manner.

"Please don't."

With these words, he moved towards the exit of Orario, the crowd immediately opening a path for him. Meanwhile, Lili stood there, her hands curled up in fists as she saw Obsidian leave with all his pent up emotions. Droplets falling on the ground, she grit her teeth.

"Damn it..."

Of course she couldn't help him again. This thought went through her mind, as she numbly followed the others back to the manor, barely recognizing their gentle shoulder squeezes or reassurances.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Hero**

"Fighting against a minotaur alone...not suicidal he says...Bet Whetelstein put those thoughts into his head..."

"Uhm, it's Wallenstein."

"Hhmmm?"

"N-nothing!"

With that, the air fell silent again and threatened to suffocate the young boy. Either that, or his goddess was heavier than he thought. Bell let out a sigh as he lied on his stomach, his shirt off as Hestia sat on him, doing the finishing touches on his update. During all of this, she kept muttering her disapproval of his actions. While he did understand why she was peeved, Bell hoped she wouldn't be so angry to such an extent. It didn't fill him with confidence when Lisa would come home or the rest of her team.

The thought of the team made Bell frown.

Even though he understood the reasons of being excluded, it didn't change the fact that he was excluded from his senior and her teammates. Sure, training with Aiz Wallenstein managed to distract him, but Bell still felt the sting. But he didn't blame them. Lisa and the others just wanted him to be safe. The former was family and the latter were good friends, so it was naturally to think so.

Still, Bell let out a sigh. They kept worrying about him and it was all his fault. Whether by his weakness or by his actions...

"Don't get me wrong, I am proud of you."

The soft words startled Bell and he slightly turned his head with wide eyes to look at Hestia, who smiled at him. Bell couldn't help but blink.

"Really?"  
In response, the goddess nodded as she went back on working on his back.

"Yes. I mean, it does help with your dream and reading what you did...it's amazing," she muttered gently.

Blushing, Bell chuckled as he scratched his right cheek.

"T-thanks."

However, the good mood quickly vanished when the air left his body as Hestia slapped his back a few times. Amidst the pain, he could tell she was pouting at him with disapproval.

"However, it was still reckless! If you had to protect someone or had someone there to make sure you don't die, I wouldn't be so mad!" She yelled, before finally stopping with the slapping and letting out a deep sigh. Bell in turn laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

In hindsight, it was rather reckless of him. Catching up or not, he realized he was getting a little too impatient in being part of Lisa's team. If he weren't as lucky as he was, he could be dead now. He had to thank Aiz for the training that helped him survive this ordeal.

If he got the guts for it, he thought with a sigh.

"So, how about you tell me about what happened?"

Her sudden request made Bell blink in confusion and glanced at her neutral expression.

"Can't you read it on my Falna?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. In response, the goddess crossed her arms and pouted at him.

"So you don't wanna tell me what happened?"

The rookie gulped, realizing his mistake of his comment, whatever it may have been, and put on a shaky smile.

"N-no, I would be happy to do so!" He was being honest as well. If Hestia wanted to hear it and listen to what might be his biggest accomplishment thus far, he was absolutely willing to tell her. Still, the confusion was still evident on his face, as he frowned slightly. Whether or not his goddess noticed, he received his answer to his previous question.

"Good." Hestia nodded to herself, looking a bit smug. Then her grin fell and she pointed at his back with a frown. "Because this isn't telling me all the details."

"Huh? Why?" Bell asked in shock and Hestia shrugged as she pressed her lips together.

"I don't know. It's like someone spilled ink over the some spots. I can't read some parts." She looked into hos eyes, raising an eyebrow. "Any idea why?"

A distant memory rang inside his head. During one of the breaks in Obsidian's training sessions, Welf wondered out loud what kind of skills he had, when the teacher was going somewhere else. From there, Lisa informed them that he had a different Blessing and from what she heard, he didn't have the "conventional" system of skills and level ups.

"Well...I heard that Mister Noir's blessing is different from others," Bell summarized his memory to his goddess as he furrowed his forehead. There was a bit more, but he couldn't quite remember. It got rather technical and the concussion he had at the time didn't help either.

When he looked back up, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw his goddess frown with what he could only describe as distaste.

"Right, that...Gaia." She clicked her tongue in irritation. "Not doing a good job of being likeable, if she screws this up like that."

Bell frowned a bit at Hestia's muttering.

He wasn't sure how Obsidian's relationship with Gaia was, but apparently Hestia knew something. And from what he could tell, her bad opinion was different from the one she had about Loki, whatever her issue with her was. Still, despite his worry, Bell remained silent. He didn't know anything about Gaia and for what it was worth, maybe his goddess was justified in her opinion. Nevertheless, the rookie decided to wait before forming an opinion about Obsidian's patron. After all, he didn't met her yet, as far as he knew.

Bell blinked at the thought and paled.

Oh gods, what if he did meet her before and he didn't recognize her? He hoped he didn't do anything shameful if he did meet her.

"Speaking of which, we gotta pick your Developmental Ability," Hestia said casually, interrupting his train of thought. Bell perked up a bit, feeling excited as he raised his upper body a bit in order to put his arms underneath.

"Oh, what do I have?" He asked with curiosity. In response, the goddess raised three fingers.

"Well, three. The classic ones Hunter and Abnormal Resistance are available. The latter would be useful, but the former not so much," she explained, lowering two of her fingers so that only her index finger was raised. Bell tilted his head with a small frown.

"Huh? Why not?"

As far as Bell knew, both skills were useful and commonly sought by many adventurers. Abnormal Resistance made sure that most poison or diseases were essentially useless on someone, if the rank was high enough, and Hunter increased the stats of the adventurer against monsters he already fought against. But the difficulty to gain each of them were different. In order to receive Abnormal Resistance, one only had to be exposed to Moth Poison in the early floors and survive (which was not fun for Bell). However, Hunter required one to kill many monsters in a short period of time. Because of that, Bell was a bit baffled why he shouldn't take it.

In response to his thoughts, Hestia shook her head.

"Because it's suited for those who stick around one floor for longer periods of times." She chuckled amused as she gave him a pointed look. "You grow too fast to make use of it."

The rookie laughed nervously, before contemplating her words.

Bell had to admit that it made sense. After all, he was the new record holder now, dethroning Aiz, as weird as it still sounded in his head. Becoming stronger against monsters he would already be overpowering by the point he would fight them would be wasteful of a slot.

Then, Bell frowned when he noticed something.

"Wait, what's the third?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and Hestia grinned at him.

"Luck."

If the Hestia Family had a cicada problem in their basement, they would be chirping undisturbed right about now. Since they didn't have such problem, only silence reigned between the two occupants. Bell blinked as he processed the word and couldn't help but tilt his head.

"Luck? I never heard of that before."

He wasn't the most informed adventurer in the world, but he was sure that he would have heard something about an ability called that. Hestia in response tapped the right side of her head, pressing her lips together.

"I think it would be akin to divine protection or something like that..." She then nodded with a proud smile. "As far as I know, it's one of a kind."

Hearing that, Bell perked up.

"Like Lili's Lightning Affinity?" He asked excited, knowing full well how strong it actually was. For one, Static became stronger and stronger with each use, its growth on par with even Bell's Firebolt. But it also made her more resistant to lightning, as was demonstrated when Obsidian decided to zap them all during training. To have a special ability available like her was an honor.

Seeing his expression, his goddess nodded in approval.

"I see we think alike." Dramatically, she raised her finger, before making the finishing touches on his back in a fast pace. "Luck it is! And we are done!"

Wiping of the sweat of her forehead, the goddess stood up and sat down on the bed, while Bell stretched himself a bit and sat next to her right, looking at his hands with a small frown.

He already knew there wasn't a sudden power up, after the first member of the Hestia family leveled up, from what Lisa told him. Still, it was a bit disappointing that the second level felt so underwhelming.

"You think this is lame, don't you?"

"No!" Bell immediately yelled in denial, waving his right hand frantically in front of his face. However, Hestia stared at him with a blank expression and Bell sighed, shoulders slumping. "Yes."

For a while, she kept looking at him. But then, she failed to hold back a giggle and patted him on the back lightly.

"You're cute when you're like that." Ignoring his blush, she leaned back and looked at him with expectation. "So. Story time?"

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he cleared his throat.

Where to begin…

Feeling a bit restless after training with Aiz, he decided to take a deeper dive into the dungeon than unusual. Sure, they didn't have any money problems, but Bell still felt like doing his part for the family.

Having reached the final floor before the Middle Floors began with his heavy bag of monster crystals, the 12th floor, he immediately noticed that something was off. The thick mist wasn't much of a problem anymore, having gotten used to it already. Because of that, he could see rather deep into the area.

There were no monsters. But the sounds of fighting were still there. Before he could investigate further, panicking adventurers came to his way and ran right past him, screaming in terror. Not able to decipher the words, Bell wasn't sure what the problem was.

However, that ignorance didn't last long as he stepped forward. He spotted blood on the ground with wide eyes. Just as he began to see the remnants of a body, his instincts, honed by training and beatings from people far stronger than him, screamed at him to dodge.

It was a last minute action, because he barely managed to jump away from a gigantic sword trying to cleave him in half. Rolling off his momentum, Bell turned around to something that made him freeze for just a moment with terror.

A sword wielding minotaur on the Upper Floors. Covered in blood and leaving a trail of corpses behind it.

If that didn't scream irregular, Bell didn't know what would.

As if angered by his survival, the monster let out a demonic roar. Bell knew what a normal minotaur sounded like, which was enough to make him shudder. This roar was completely different and the rookie's head was filled with thoughts of running away. This was a monster that could fight level two adventurers and still have a good chance of killing them. Not to mention it was an irregular one as well.

However, it only lasted a moment, before he grit his teeth, shaking those traitorous thoughts away.

He had fought stronger beings than that. And wasn't this the perfect opportunity to beat back his own weakness, overcoming the wall that separated him from his friends and those he looked up to? Lili fought against an army of monsters and Lisa and Welf took on a Floor Boss on their own.

If they could do it, so could he.

So why wouldn't he brandish the Hestia Knife, throw away the bag with monster crystals and get ready for combat?

Still, despite all the bravado, the battle did not start well.

The Hestia Knife was a powerful weapon, thanks to his high status and was above the quality of what a level one could usually get. Coupled with his training and skill, he managed to get some hits in. However, he was still fighting a level two monster. Thus, the hide was thick enough to only allow medium cuts at most. Not to mention that the minotaur knew how to use that sword, showing some swordsmanship. The rookie had a few close calls, feeling the force of its swings barely missing him. Like inside a storm, he could feel the strong winds crushing against his face with each miss. In a straight up melee, Bell would lose, due to the lack of dealing enough damage before he ran out of steam.

Normally, Firebolt would be his solution, but the short chant spell showed its weakness once again. If the monster in question didn't have a weakness against magic, fire or lightning, Firebolt was only useful for quick damage, not severe ones.

Unfortunately for Bell, the minotaur had neither of those, and Firebolt barely did any damage. Still, it did its job in pushing the monster away for time or covering its field of vision.

Nevertheless, he was losing and took serious damage over the course of the fight. A misstep was enough for him to get slammed onto the ground, his left arm useless due to being stabbed with the minotaur's horn. His arm guard was ripped away, thrown somewhere into the mist, the only thing that prevented a hole into his limb. Suffice to say, he was panicking.

With gritted teeth, Bell cursed the fact he only had so few tools up his sleeve. He didn't expect to have to use anything but the Hestia Knife or Firebolt on only this level. Without a supporter carrying heavier weaponry for him, he had nothing left.

Then, it clicked for him.

If he didn't have enough tools, he just need to make them. And Bell knew a person who could use one spell for several occasions just by training hard enough and imagination. While Firebolt was a different spell, shouldn't he be able to do something like that as well?

He wouldn't risk something too complicated. It wasn't as naturally versatile as Static yet. However, doing a minor modification...

With his still good arm, he concentrated when the minotaur ran towards him. The distance was wide enough and he wasn't the only one exhausted.

The uncontrollable stream of fire and lightning were forced together, smaller and thinner in his mind. The wave of destruction became a single line. Then, he let loose his image of his modification.

Faster than normal, his spell shot out and hit the minotaur before it could reach him, the laser of heat and lightning hunting down its target.

Firebolt Pierce did the trick of piercing its hard hide. And it was a cool name, Hestia's laughter be damned. Better than Welf's naming sense after all.

Anyway, he hit it, but the rookie knew he couldn't fire it off again. However, he didn't need to.

It may have been luck, but Bell managed to hit it directly into its monster crystal, killing it instantly. As it fell into ashes, it took a while for him to process what he just did. Then, he realized his victory. However, it was short lived.

The modified spell had its price. He used up more energy than usual in order to condense the spell into a single, small line. Because of that, with the threat of the minotaur gone, his focus and tension left him and he fell unconscious. Exhausted, but happy.

It was the hardest fight of his life after all, but he prevailed.

Bell frowned a bit.

Now that he was looking back, he was lucky a lot even after the battle. With no party members around, he would have been easy prey to monsters in the vicinity at any time. Well, unless a random adventurer felt courteous enough to guard him, but according the Loki members that picked him up on the way back, they didn't see anyone.

And now, here he was, having his status update after members of the Loki Family (sans Aiz, thank the gods) picked him up on their way back to the surface while he was unconscious.

Hestia, throughout the story, remained silent, though without showing the occasional burst of emotion. Anger, horror, excitement, they all crossed her face at some point. But now, she frowned, right hand against her chin.

"Luck really suits you..." She muttered, clearly peeved that her child was pretty much at the dungeon's mercy after his fight. But she let out a sigh, letting the matter rest and handing Bell a piece of paper. "Before I forget...here's your new sheet."

Taking it, Bell smiled as he looked over the 'two' next to his level. The sight of Luck filled him with pride as well. However, his eyes widened when he spotted something in a section that was empty before.

A new skill!

Reading over it, his smile fell and he tilted his head in confusion.

"Heroic Desire, Argonaut. Executes automatically with an active action..." He muttered, mulling over the phrase and not quite getting what it meant. However, then his eyes went back to the name and he paled. "Wait..."

Heroic Desire. His face flushed red. His dream was now written on his back, forever a part of his body. And Hestia would see it every single day. Not to mention that Argonaut was about a story of a young boy, trying to be a hero, and failing rather hard at it. Fooled by others, having to be saved by a queen and finding monsters by sheer luck or misfortune, depending on how one would see it. It didn't make Bell's cheeks any less red.

Naturally, his goddess felt his embarrassment and decided to put one final nail into the coffin. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she hid her wide grin rather poorly behind her left hand.

"Isn't it cute how even your Blessing supports your hero dream?" She cooed at him and this caused his head to turn crimson.

"Goddess, I hate you!" He yelled with his head turned around, crossing his arms with a pout. However, he was a bit confused when he didn't hear a single giggle. Before he could question it, arms wrapped around his shoulders and Hestia pressed herself against him with closed eyes and a soft smile.

"I'm glad you're safe…" She muttered, leaning against him. Bell couldn't help but smile back, despite the minor blush.

"Sorry for worrying you, goddess."

With those words, they stayed like that for a while, enjoying the silence and each other's company. But then, Bell furrowed his forehead. Noticing this, Hestia raised an eyebrow at him and he crossed his arms.

"Hm...I have the feeling we forgot something..."

Of course it was in that moment, the two of them heard heavy footsteps from above. Looking up in confusion, the two of them tilted their heads.

Who would visit an abandoned church?

The answer came in form of the sound of wood splitting and the rookie realized someone destroyed the door that led to the basement they were in. Before he could prepare himself, the cause stomped into the room with a snarl.

"Bell, you son of a bitch!" Lisa shouted, right arm already reaching for him while she reared back her left arm, shield in hand. He only had enough time to widen his eyes in paling fear and get two, small words out.

"Oh no."


	11. Chapter 11

**Fanning The Flames 11.1**

Lili would love to say with confidence that she wasn't sulking around in her room inside the manor, left alone to her depressed thoughts. But that would be a lie, she thought with a deep sigh, one of many she did during her stay. She knew it was wrong to stay inside like that, not doing anything productive, but her drive was on an all time low and with that, her focus. Lili was grateful that the others noticed that she needed some time alone to gather her thoughts, since not even Lefiya, her roommate, was in the room. Because of that, her mind began to wander.

After her father left the city to vent and saying half hearted goodbyes to her teammates, Lili followed Gareth back to the manor, more automatically than consciously as her head was filled with worry and self blame. Well, it still was, but it was worse before, considering she could only see her memories in a blur. Frowning in thought, she tried her best to remember the details.

Before Aiz fought the Monster Rex, they investigated a murder scene, where a level four was killed, formerly belonging to the Ganesha Family. Things escalated from there, from another attack by the plants from the festival and a monster similar to the one Aiz slayed during the expedition. But the worst was the murderer, that the Sword Princess confronted with Lefiya.

And lost. According to her, she barely did any damage with the mage and got thrown around like a ragdoll. If it weren't for Riveria and Finn, she could have died.

Lili chuckled darkly. Wasn't that nice to have in the back of her mind. At least she knew why Aiz would risk her life to level up. If the Pallum had to suffer such a lost, she would want to become stronger ASAP as well.

Anyway, that was all the information she could remember, aside from the warning of staying wary of their surroundings and focusing on becoming stronger and gathering materials and money for the next expedition. Lili was a bit confused on why she was even there for the "higher ups" meeting, but she chalked it up to being closer with Aiz and the rest than others and that she fought against the plant monsters and thus deserved to know.

Anyway, skip forward from that to the night and Lili could barely sleep due to noise outside. She wasn't the only one, but she had a different reason than just the volume. It was thunder, raging through the air and letting its presence known. And the Pallum knew for a fact that there were no rain clouds outside. The fact that Lili could hear it and that it was during the night time, meant that despite the distance he covered, Obsidian was throwing around strong enough lightning to let Orario hear it. Suffice to say, her father was venting a lot during the night and probably only stopped around early morning because he either got too tired or he was running out of things to throw lightning at.

Either of the two was terrifying to think about on its own. Well, he could have just calmed down, but Lili wasn't sure about that. Letting another deep sigh, she hugged her legs closer to herself, clenching her eyes shut as she saw the image of Obsidian, staring at her with rage, flash in front of her mind again and again.

A sudden knock against the door snapped her out of it and Lili turned to the entrance, blinking confused.

"May I come in?"

Hearing the familiar female voice, muffled behind the door, the Pallum bit her lip. She would love to say "no", but that would be too rude, even if she wanted to be alone. Because of that, she stretched her legs, her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh before forcing herself to smile.

"Sure, come in!"

With that, the door opened and Riveria entered the room, a neutral look on her face as she glanced around in the room, before her eyes rested on Lili's form. Seeing the smile, the elf narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. In response, Lili let it fall immediately and sighed as she looked down on the bed.

"It has been quite a storm last night, hasn't it?" The noble said in a calm manner, as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Lili let out a scoff and closed her eyes.

"You could call it that..." She muttered and leaned her head back on the wall. For a while, silence reigned between them, but it was swiftly interrupted with a deep breath from Riveria. Looking at her, Lili saw that she looked...wary in a sense, as she folded her hands and pressed her lips together.

"I know, we are not as close as you are with Obsidian. But I would be thankful if you told me..." She trailed off, before shaking her head and looking the Pallum directly into the eye with a frown. "Why he is out there."

Instantly, Lili's body became rigid.

Could she tell her? Lili knew for a fact why Obsidian was out there, but it delved into very private manners. His past, for one, and his emotional state for another, if their talk in the carriage was any indication. But the question was, could she tell Riveria?

Obsidian never told anyone else about what he told her. Sure, people had their ideas and heard about him, but he never personally told anyone willingly. He didn't have to tell her, after she heard the story from Ryuu and he didn't have to bare his feelings on the carriage.

Which meant he didn't want anyone else to know.

It wasn't her secret to tell, the Pallum decided then and looked at the woman with an impassive face, trained by years of being in the Soma family, as she crossed her legs.

"Why do you think I know the reason?" She asked calmly. To her surprise, Riveria smiled a little bit as she politely folded her hands.

"Because he is your father and probably told you more about himself than anybody else in this city."

Lili shot up from her sitting position, standing with a flushed face as she looked at the elf, whose smile turned a bit smug.

"F-father?" She asked hesitantly and Riveria tilted her head in a coy manner.

"Don't look so surprised, I went to the Hestia Family to share information and they told me," she replied, closing her right eye teasingly. Turning redder, Lili quietly sat down to the elf's left and put her hands on her lap with her lips pressed together.

Damn it, Lisa.

As if hearing her inner comment, the noble chuckled politely, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Having such a close bond with someone is something to be proud of," Riveria explained in a warm tone and all Lili could do was nod with a red face as she lowered her head even more.

Maybe she shouldn't call Obsidian her father all the time in public. It was a bit more embarrassing than she expected. On the other hand, she loved him, so she had to bear it.

Lili blinked. She loved him. So what was she doing here? Didn't she tell herself to help Obsidian, no matter what? That meant going behind his back if needed.

…The girl winced at that thought.

Okay, maybe she should phrase this better in her head.

She couldn't be selfish about this. If Riveria could help her in supporting Obsidian, then wasn't it her duty to accept it? Her pride had no place in this.

With a sigh, she leaned back, left arm behind her, and ran her right hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I know why." She awkwardly cleared her throat, averting her eyes. "Not sure if I can tell you. I mean, I trust you. You are probably one of the few in this family I am close to. But-"

Lili stopped when Riveria held her hand up, nodding calmly.

"It's his secret. I understand." She shook her head. "And I'm not offended. We all have our moments."

The girl nodded slowly and took a deep breath. This was one of her friends. She could relax in here. The elf tried her best to calm her down after all.

"He's out there to vent," she began to explain, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "Because of Bell's and Aiz' level up." She scratched her right cheek a bit awkwardly. "It...triggered bad thoughts, so to say. Past thing. Bandages. All that."

Putting a hand on her chin, Riveria hummed in thought.

"I see...He is angry at himself for not putting up the same determination these two have showed."

Lili blinked at Riveria. Gods, she was good. Considering their talk on their way to Melen, that was her first guess as well. She already knew he wasn't completely okay in the head, but for her to pinpoint Lili's own suspicion like that...

"Now, the question is, why are _you_ blaming yourself?" The elf suddenly asked, giving her a pointed look and Lili immediately held her hands up in defense.

"I'm not blaming myself."

However, she looked at the ground with a frown, slowly lowering her hands.

She wasn't...right? In her head, she began to go through the signs Obsidian told her to watch out for, else she would do "some stupid ass shit."

Let's see...isolating herself to brood, uneasy to talk to others, trying to keep secrets and taking on any burden alone, thinking that Obsidian was also mad at her…

Lili barely suppressed the urge to click her tongue. Gods. She was blaming herself. Well, lie was already out, might as well roll with it.

"Liliruca, I know my reputation in this family and so should you."

Or Riveria could call her out on it with a flat expression and tone because she had the insight of a goddess. Though the girl kind of disagreed on the reputation part, since it wasn't just that. She was basically a mother to Aiz and other girls around and would have the eye for "teenage drama", as her father would call it.

Lili hummed in thought. That would be one reason they got along so well. And having her as a mother wouldn't be so bad. She was good material after all and would mix well with Obsidian's own brand of-

Immediately, she shook her head frantically and shuddered, ignoring the confused look Riveria gave her.

Nope, not going to think about it.

Focusing back on the question of self blame, she sighed. Yes, she was blaming herself. But was she wrong? She didn't think so and decided to explain it in a low tone.

"I...just thought I should have done something. Not just...let him leave..." She weakly twirled her right hand with a scoff as she leaned back. "I'm sure he wanted my help as well, even if he said otherwise..."

"I doubt that."

The immediate, calm reply made Lili blink for a moment, before turning to Riveria with a tilted head. This caused the latter to giggle as she covered her mouth with her right index knuckle, before folding her hands on her lip. With a soft smile, she closed her eyes.

"Do you know about the story where I once ran away from the manor?"

At that moment, Lili had to gape at her.

"You? Ran away?" She asked in disbelief and the noble nodded, eyes still closed.

"It's been a long time ago and I was only starting as an adventurer. It was during a time where Finn and Gareth weren't my closest comrades."

The Pallum raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms at the vague description and Riveria coughed awkwardly, her right eye open as she glanced at the girl with a faint blush.

"Not my proudest time, but we tended to bicker more than actually talk normally." Taking a deep breath to calm down, she continued. "Anyway, it happened when Gareth leveled up after Finn did. I was the only one who didn't level up."

Lili's eyes widened in surprise and the noble let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead with tired eyes.

"Suffice to say, I was envious. Not to mention I had...quite an ego. So the pressure I put on myself became too much. One day, at noon, I just...ran away, without telling anyone."

The Pallum would like to say that it was a surprise to hear, but with understanding eyes, Lili knew what she was talking about in a sense. Not everyone was born with the experience and wisdom Riveria currently had, so her younger self would be less stable, so to say. Not hearing any interruptions, the woman looked up at the ceiling before continuing on.

"I've managed to avoid any contact in order to be alone. Once I found myself a spot, I started to go through all the emotions I had. Sadness, which led to crying, to rage, which led to angry crying, to sheer exhaustion and introspection." She glanced at Lili with a neutral expression. "I won't go into details, but I realized that I had to put more effort into changing myself. Which meant less comparing myself to others and let go of my pride. It wasn't easy and I didn't manage it immediately, but it was my first step. With that, I could go back with my mind clear."

Looking down on the ground, she took a deep breath.

"It's only been a day and I returned early in the morning. Nevertheless, I was away longer than I expected. The reception I received..." A light laugh escaped her as she shook her head, a fond expression on her face."The first thing they did was apologize. I was confused at first. It didn't even occur to me that others would blame themselves for my state. After all, they had nothing to do with it. I never blamed them, after all, for being faster and better than me at the time, for not noticing my hidden turmoil faster."

Silence fell between them, as Lili processed the information in her head. It was just an example, but the Pallum had a feeling it could be applied on her current problem as well. When a hand touched her shoulder, she turned to Riveria in surprise, who gently smiled at her.

"What I am trying to say here…People sometimes need to be alone. Even the strongest of us." She squeezed Lili's shoulder reassuringly. "You didn't make a mistake by letting him leave. You listened to his wish and I know he is grateful for it. Sometimes it is only us that we are mad at and not others. That is perfectly normal." Removing her hand, her smile became a bit teasing. "As for the fact you gave me some hints at best about his reasons...I am sure he won't be too mad, considering you only want to help."

For a while Lili stared at the elf, but in the end, she let out a deep sigh. Riveria was right.

Obsidian would never blame her. At most, he would punch her for being stupid and wasting her life away blaming herself, like he did. And the last thing she wanted to be was end up like him. Both were working hard to fix that for him, so she shouldn't be in such a dump.

With that in mind, she nodded quietly, causing Riveria to let out a breath of relief.

Still, there was one thing that bugged her.

"Why did you tell me this?" She asked in a curios tone, kicking her legs back and forth on the bed. Riveria blinked for a moment, before tilting her head.

"Because you looked like you needed to hear it. Why?"

"But you wouldn't tell this just anyone," Lili countered, knowing full well about her image as the perfect image of a high elf and part of royalty. To her surprise, Riveria nodded in agreement.

"Of course, I have an image to uphold." Her face became flat as she gave her a pointed, but flushed look. "An image that Obsidian has quite ruined for you already, so I do not see the point to keep up pretenses for you."

With a huff, she pushed some hair away, but Lili narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she saw the small smile on her face. She looked awfully happy about the fact that her less ideal sides were revealed. Maybe even grateful.

Anyway, there was one question left on the Pallum's mind, as the two of them sat in the bedroom in silence.

What now?

Lili looked out of the window, a contemplating expression on her face.

She didn't congratulate Aiz at all while she was stuck in her little depression, did she? Pressing her lips together, she nodded to herself and turned around to Riveria. Just as she opened her mouth however, the elf already pointed at a different window with a knowing smile.

"Aiz is in the courtyard."

Lili giggled as she scratched her right cheek sheepishly.

"Was I that obvious?"

"No, but you learn how to spot things with experience," the noble replied, shaking her head and Lili raised her eyebrow at that, crossing her arms.

"You mean old age?" She asked in a snarky tone. Seeing the elf freeze up and repeating the words in her head, she paled. Standing up, she bowed deeply. "Oh gods, I am so sorry. I-it was just a reflex, really!"

With no noise coming from either of them, Lili felt like she was about to be executed. For whatever reason, she nervously peeked up and couldn't help but whimper a bit.

She was visibly popping a vein, but her eyes were closed as well, as she took long and deep breaths. Then, she put on a smile as she looked at Lili.

Riveria made sure it was the most fake one the Pallum had ever seen.

"Well, I am older than Obsidian, I guess." After her mouth twitched a little bit, she let her fake smile fall, instead covering her eyes with her thumb and index finger, a depressed aura leaking of her. Then, she pointed at the door with her left arm. "Just go before I change my mind."

The level two didn't have to be told twice, so she quickly jogged over to the door. However, she stopped at the entrance and turned her head.

"Riveria." When the woman looked up, Lili flashed her a wide grin. "Thank you!"

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried down the hall to catch Aiz before she would leave without her. Still, she replayed the conversation with Riveria in her head and while she was very grateful for the advice and trust, there was one thing she wondered as she dodged some people on the way down the stairs.

How much older than Obsidian was Riveria?

* * *

 **Fanning The Flames 11.2**

It may have been said many times, but the Twilight Manor was gigantic, even for Orario's standards. Only top families could afford something like this and it was understandably expensive. Still, being one of the biggest families, the Loki family had to provide space and the Twilight Manor delivered to give enough comfort for all the members.

Because of that, the courtyard had a lot of space, among other things. But despite that, it was mostly empty, with only the Sword Princess occupying it, as she said on one of the benches, Desperate leaning next to her. With her eyes closed, she seemed deep in thought as she leaned her head back.

Moving across the fresh green grass, Lili was somewhat nervous with her approach. The silence, aside from the occasional wind rustling leaves, didn't make it any easier. Still, she swallowed it up, just in time when Aiz opened her eyes and turned her head to Lili with slightly widened eyes. Smiling, Lili waved her right hand as a greeting.

"Hey."

Aiz blinked, but them gave her a small smile as well, as she raised her hand.

"Hi." She gestured to her right as she tilted her head. "Do you want to sit?"

Nodding at the invitation, Lili moved to the place and giggled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head, grinning sheepishly at Aiz.

"Just wanted to properly congratulate you. Sorry for taking so long, I was kinda...you know." She wiggled with her right hand a bit and shrugged. The swordswoman stared for a moment, before bowing her head slightly in gratitude.

"I understand. Thank you."

With that, silence fell between them as Aiz closed her eyes again. However, Lili narrowed her eyes slightly at her. Something felt off about this. For one, the Sword Princess didn't relax despite her closed eyes. The smile itself seemed a bit forced. Lili saw it a few times when she tried to not make other people worry. She saw it often enough on her father after all. And, now that she gave the Sword Princess a proper look...

"You don't look that happy for someone reaching level six," she stated with crossed arms.

While Aiz wasn't the most expressive person in the world, Lili would like to say that she got rather good at reading her facial cues. Combined with her desire of becoming stronger, Aiz did not register to the Pallum as particularly ecstatic.

Speaking of expressions, Aiz widened her eyes in shock, somewhat confirming Lili's suspicion. Sure, it was different for each person, but the Pallum herself was giddy for days after processing her level up and only stopped grinning non stop until Obsidian finally called her out on it.

The following days were a bit embarrassing when others commented on it after she stopped, but that wasn't important right now.

Anyway, Aiz looked down on the ground, her hands forming into fists as she bit her lip.

"I am happy," she replied in a low tone and let out a sigh, relaxing slightly as she shook her head. "I just...have a lot on my mind."

Talk about parallels, the Pallum thought with a raised eyebrow. Scratching her chin, Lili furrowed her forehead in thought. Then, she perked up and grinned.

Lili knew exactly what would help Aiz right now. With a grin, she stood up, ignoring the confused stare she received and turned around. Then after putting her hand into her pocket, she pulled out Liberty and twirled it into its naginata form.

"Wanna have a spar?" Lili asked in a casual tone and shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, I won't be much of a challenge, but-"

Before she could finish, Aiz shot up, shaking her head violently with a faint blush.

"No, it's fine!" She smiled softly at Lili and bowed down. "I would appreciate it."

"Just don't smash me against a wall," the Pallum commented, crossing her arms with a smirk. In response to that, the swordswoman pouted at her, as they walked into the more open space of the grass. With a small distance between them, they both went into their fighting positions, Desperate held in Aiz' right hand in front of her, and Liberty held above Lili's head with both hands.

The standoff only lasted a few moments, before the Sword Princess blurred into motion. The Pallum moved her arms to the right side in order to guard with Liberty, but when she started to move, the blunt side of the sword already hit her.

Pain flared up in her rips and…

Lili blinked. That was it. While she stumbled a bit to the left and rubbed her side, she was still conscious and on her legs. She let out an impressed grunt when she turned to Aiz, who stopped in mid swing, blinking confused at the Pallum as well.

They stared at each other in silence, frozen in their awkward positions, before Lili straightened up her back, Liberty turning back into its non combat form, and put her hands on her hips.

"Huh. You really got better at holding back," she said, raising an eyebrow. Immediately, Aiz crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes with a pout.

"I thought you wouldn't tease me."

Lili in turn raised her hands in defense, smiling slightly.

"Actually a compliment."

While Aiz didn't look like she believed her, with the way her pout was still present, she didn't say anything and took her stance again. Then, their dance began anew.

Constantly by a hair's breadth, Lili managed to dodge the quick sword of Aiz. Weaving her head around her stabs a few times, ducking away or barely deflecting it by spinning Liberty, the Pallum could somewhat avoid any damage now that she warmed up.

After swaying back once, Lili took a deep breath and stepped in, moving past Desperate, swinging the naginata down from above. Almost effortlessly, Aiz quickly raised her arm and deflected Liberty to her left side. Not missing a beat, the Pallum used the momentum to spin around and throw a right back kick at her. This time, she hit, straight into the stomach, and she managed to cause the human stumble back a bit. After forcing herself forward a bit, Lili turned around, twirling Liberty and transformed it into the dagger form, standing ready to fight again as she observed Aiz' reaction.

The Sword Princess smiled, not looking hurt at all and Lili couldn't help but smile back, before they went at each other again.

The Pallum didn't delude herself that she actually stood a chance of making her opponent even sweat, much less hurt. Nevertheless, it was still fun, sparring with Aiz, their weapons softly clashing against each other as they tried their best not to overexert themselves, or break their opponent in Aiz' case.

All of a sudden however, the Sword Princess stopped, lowering her sword as she looked down on the ground, with her lips pressed together. As Lili tilted her head, the swordswoman let out a small sigh.

"The incident still worries me."

She was opening up to Lili. That was rather surprising. She nodded slowly, eyes wide, before clearing her throat awkwardly. Right, she couldn't screw this up for her

"I heard. Stuff got crazy. The plants were back, right?" She asked, crossing her arms at Aiz, who shook her head.

"That's not what I meant." She bit her lip, hugging her right arm as it loosely held Desperate. "The words the enemy told me are keeping me busy."

The Pallum winced, knowing full well this was going to be a tough topic. Without saying a word, the two of them sat down on the bench, just like before, and Lili raised an eyebrow as she leaned back.

"Words?"

Aiz nodded, folding her hands on her lap.

"Do you remember my reaction when you talked about Gaia?" She asked in a quiet tone, and after mulling over it, Lili snapped her right index finger at her.

"Yeah. Was kinda weird. Why?" Lili asked, tilting her head, and the Sword Princess took a deep breath, before she averted her gaze.

"She called me Aria, by my mother's name." She gave Lili a pointed look as her hands curled up into fists. "As you should know, not many people should know that, given my circumstances."

The Sword Princess looked at the Pallum with expectation, but she stayed awkwardly silent. How could she be anything but that? After all, Lili had not the slightest idea what the hell she was talking about. Because of that, she tilted her head, her face scrunched up in incomprehension.

"Uhm...What?" She asked dumbly and Aiz blinked.

"My circumstances," she repeated, but all she received was a blank look. Aiz' face paled slightly. "He...did tell you, right?"

Lili let out a small oh. Now she got it. Assumptions. The mother of all bad things in the world. Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you tell him he could tell me?"

"No, I didn't," Aiz replied dumbly, processing the fact that she basically spilled her secrets willy nilly. Lili sighed, shoulders slumping down, before she looked up with a face with disbelief.

"Then why do you think he would have told me?" She twirled with her right hand. "I mean, he isn't an asshole. He can keep secrets if he wants to and he doesn't tell me everything about what he knows." She paused, before touching her chin in thought. "Well, except that one time where he slipped up and told me about Gaia in the first place." Then she pointed the palm of her hand towards the sky, tilting her head to the other side with a cheap grin. "And then I slipped up." A depressed groan escaped her as she palmed her face with both hands. "Man, I am becoming like him, aren't I?"

Shaking her head, deciding not to think about her doomed future, she looked up again just in time to see Aiz blush at the lack of Lili's knowledge. The blonde coughed in embarrassment as she looked away.

"W-well. Now you know parts of my secret. My mother is Aria and Gaia is..."

Taking a deep breath, Aiz folded her hands on her lap as she looked down with a sad smile as her blush vanished.

"Gaia is a close family friend, so to say. She was like an aunt to me." The smile fell and she took a shaky breath. "I...haven't seen her for years." Quickly, she shook her head, before Lili could comfort her. Then, Aiz looked up at the rookie, frowning a bit."I talked to Obsidian after the incident and he didn't know much." She sighed and looked up at the sky, a solemn expression on her face. "The fact that the enemy knew something about my family...It can't be a coincidence."

The two of them fall silent. After all, Aiz finished her explanation and Lili didn't know what to say. Sucks to be you? You're right? Anything she would say would have no meaning. Not without getting more context about this and judging from how tense the Sword Princess was, Lili knew better than to push her, even if her curiosity demanded other wise.

Because of that, the Pallum let the silence remain, and calmly observed how Aiz began to relax. Once she was sure Aiz was calm, Lili let her head lean back.

"Do you know how Bell Cranel progressed so fast?"

Of course, she wasn't allowed to relax quite yet. Turning her head slightly, she was a bit taken aback by the intensity of the swordswoman's eyes.

Then she processed the question and bit her lip. Bell's skill was a secret, one she didn't share with anyone in the Loki Family. After all, it was a secret belonging to the team and Hestia. It was already dangerous enough that so many people knew about it, and they all agreed to get permission from each other before they would tell anyone else.

Because of that, Lili knew that. She couldn't tell Aiz. At least yet. Shrugging helplessly, her smile was a bit strained.

"You got your secrets, he got his. Sorry," she replied. For a moment, Aiz' expression was blank, unreadable to Lili. Then, she let out a sigh.

"I see." She closed her eyes as she smiled. "I am happy for him. He is a good fighter, after all. He deserves it."

"Right, you trained with each other." Lili smirked teasingly. "Anything good happen?"

However, Aiz only tilted her head innocently, blinking with curiosity.

"No. Why?"

Because he had a crush on you, Lili thought dryly, but she knew that she couldn't say it out loud. Sighing, she lowered her head and looked away.

"Figures," she muttered in an exhausted tone, before raising her head and tilting her head with a grin. "You get along well?"

Aiz gave a confirming "uhuh" while nodding. Then however, she lowered her head, her forehead furrowing in thought.

"I may have been wrong," she muttered, causing Lili to tilt her head. Noticing that she spoke out loud, Aiz pressed her lips together for a moment, before shaking her head and looking up at the sky. "I worried that he would lose it sooner or later, especially after I heard what happened with the minotaur. I thought only by becoming someone..." She hesitated, her hands curling up into fists on her lap, before she relaxed again. "Different, he would have overcome it. But the next day I met him...He wasn't different at all." She closed her eyes with a soft expression. "I was relieved."

The Pallum stared at her with surprise. It sounded surprisingly philosophical and she didn't know that Aiz cared that much for Bell. Though Lili focused on what Aiz meant with "different."

What exactly did she mean? From her phrasing, it was obvious some sort of personality change, in a negative sense. Maybe she meant her pursuit for strength Lili heard about in the family? Well, she doubted that Aiz would explain it to her if it caused such discomfort, but the line of thinking still intrigued Lili. Looking up at the clear blue sky, she wondered about one thing.

Was she different?

Thinking about it for a moment and she concluded, yes, she was. She didn't remain like she was after a near death situation like Bell, but she also didn't take a turn to the "worse" like Aiz seemed to believe. After all, Lili thought it was pretty hard to go lower than she was before being a proper adventurer.

The Pallum liked to think she became a better person. More optimistic and a lot more goals to strive for than just "staying alive". The freedom she gained was important to her and it motivated her to no ends. She became stronger, faster, better and tasted friendship and family.

And she had Obsidian to thank for it. Lili grinned as a thought came to her mind. Standing up, she stretched her back as she cracked her knuckles, letting out a satisfied groan.

"Well, I stayed here long enough. Gotta go back home."

"Home?" Aiz asked, tilting her head, and Lili pointed at herself with a smirk.

"Someone's gotta clean the house while the owner is away."

The daughter knew that her father didn't clean often, hence the dirt and similar stuff piled up. It would be a nice thing to do, as a thanks and to cause him embarrassment that a little Pallum like herself had to do his job. Try as he might, he still had some pride left and she was going to tease him when he came back, cheering him up at the same time. The thought caused her to giggle slightly.

Anyway, Aiz nodded slowly.

"Ah, I see." For some reason, her face was filled with worry and another emotion Lili couldn't quite place. Then, Aiz looked up with faint smile. "I hope that your...father comes back."

The Pallum blinked, but then bowed her head in appreciation.

"He'll be back." She said with a smirk full of confidence. "But thank you for worrying."

With that said, she jogged towards the exit of the manor, leaving Aiz behind.

After she left the manor behind and ran a small distance, her jog slowed down to a slow walk. In her excitement, Lili realized one thing she failed to remember. One problem that Lili failed to realize before leaving.

Cleaning alone was the most boring thing in the world. Lili slapped her forehead with a groan.

She could clean up herself, but it would be real awkward doing it alone, in silence. But she already walked such a long distance and going back now would be a bit embarrassing.

Sighing, she rubbed her hair, mulling over if she should actually clean now or not. Then, before she could reach a decision, she stopped and blinked. She stood right in front of the Hostess of Fertility. Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes at the building.

Hm…

Ryuu did say she had a free day today, right?

* * *

 **Fanning The Flames 11.3**

Brushing her finger over the table, Lili frowned when she saw the white dust gathered on her skin. If she wouldn't visit regularly, she was sure her father would just let the dust settle on anything that wasn't the ground. He always disliked cleaning and saw it as a bothering task that had to be done, only cleaning the ground and the areas he frequented. Judging by the half circle like spots that had less dust, conveniently the length of Obsidian's arms, he didn't even bother with water and a towel and instead utilized the skill "swing your arms wildly" to wipe it away.

In other words, he was a slob and Lili wasn't the only one who thought that. Hearing a huff behind her, the Pallum turned around to see her maid friend glare from the kitchen.

"I expected him to have no respect for hygiene with those bandages, but this is even worse than I thought." She glanced at the dried flatware with a sigh. "At the very least he cleans the plates." Then, she glanced back into the sink and her frown intensified. "Some of them."

Giggling in response, Lili scratched the back of her head sheepishly, before clapping her hands together and bowing slightly with her right eye closed.

"Thanks for helping me out here. On your free day, nonetheless."

Ryuu in turn shook her head and smile lightly at her.

"You came at the right time, actually." Her smile faltered a bit and she took a deep breath. "I do not like those...shopping trips Syr tends to bring me on."

Lili crossed her arms, raising a knowing eyebrow.

"Clothes?" She asked in a knowing tone. When Ryuu facepalmed in response, Lili snickered a bit and nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I like to look nice sometimes, but I don't need a whole wardrobe for that."

She didn't have a lot to begin with in her life and meeting Obsidian only solidified her opinion on saving money where she could. Which included not throwing all of her savings at clothes, like some girls in the Loki Family were trying to persuade her into, to no avail. Ryuu nodded in agreement, smiling with satisfaction.

"Exactly." She looked at the doors next to each other, before looking back at the Pallum. "I believe you take care of the bedrooms?"

"Yup."

After all, as much as she trusted Ryuu, private bedrooms were private for a reason. With broom, towel and a bucket full of water, Lili made her way into her own room as the elf started to clean the dirty plates first.

As it was her room, she didn't really pay much attention to her actions. After all, she did it so many times, it was second nature to her. Her room wasn't that decorated anyway, so there wasn't that much work to be done.

In no time, she finished dusting off the area, before moving on to the door next to her room. She bit her lip, staring at the name plate with "Obsidian" written on it, but Lili took a deep breath, before entering it. She had been in here before, so the room wasn't a new region to discover. Still, it reminded her how...empty this place was. It was not a nice feeling to have, she thought with a frown.

Overall, the room wasn't as different as her own. The only differences were the bookshelf, that had a lot more books in than her scarce one had and the lock on his wardrobe. Other than that, it had the same "boring" tone as her room. Not a lot of individuality and more focus on practicality.

Though as she went through the motions of cleaning, her gaze never left the lock. From what she could see it was high quality, but nothing super expensive like the material Aiz' Desperate was made of. Lili was sure she could break it, either by bruteforce or lockpicking, if she wanted to. A part of her was curious what he had inside. However, it was just a small part.

No, she thought as she shook her head. This was private and if he wanted her to search through it, it wouldn't be locked. On the other hand, the book shelf was not locked, so to say, and she never really went through the books herself. Since she didn't have anything better to do at the moment, she lazily took out the books, read their summary on the back, before putting it back in.

The usual stuff, like romantic adventurers or just pure adventurers, like Argonaut or Dungeon Oratoria, to those science books that were imported from Boundary and stuff that went over her head, like psychology or mythology she never even heard of. Not to mention that "sci fi" stuff, which was not her cup of tea after looking in. Far future stuff was hard to relate to after all.

She should probably read more books, if only to get into Obsidian's head easier. With that in mind, she put the last interesting looking book, a story about a man landing in another world and dying constantly, and left the room, ready to help out Ryuu where necessary.

The moment Lili stepped outside however, she stopped in her tracks, blinking at the sight in front of her. Ryuu sat at the dining table, gracefully drinking tea she heated up with her maid clothes not even slightly wrinkled. Her eyes were closed, as she relaxed with the taste of the drink on her tongue, her features even more beautiful than usual. The surroundings were sparkling, despite the fact it was wood that made up this building, not something like porcelain. For a moment, Lili thought she stepped into the vacation home of a high elf, royalty like Riveria.

Quickly, the Pallum managed to shake her dazing state off and coughed awkwardly. Ryuu opened her eyes and turned her head to Lili in small surprise. At the same time, Lili grinned, before whistling with her hands on her hips.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be that fast," she said, putting her arms on a chair in front of the elf as she leaned forward. Ryuu in turn only smiled lightly, that oozed smugness as it was natural for her species.

"It is part of my occupation. It is natural."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before they both giggled, shaking their head at their little joke. But suddenly, Ryuu's smile fell, causing Lili to tilt her head as her grin slightly wavered. The elf took a deep breath and folded her hands on the table after setting down the tea.

"Lili, there is another reason why I came here." She bit her lip, something Lili never saw her do, and gestured towards the chair the Pallum leaned on. "Can we talk?"

Blinking as her smile fell, the rookie followed the request and sat down, hands on her lap. With a small frown, she leaned back on the chair.

"What's up?"

"I consider you a close friend. Like I do with Syr," Ryuu started in an even, but careful tone, fiddling with her fingers a little as she looked into Lili's eyes. "Because of that, I believe I should tell you my secret. Remember what I have said about myself and Noir?"

One part of her knew she should feel flattered by the compliment. Another part should have been shocked or ecstatic at the fact that she was trusted so much. She should have probably also start up her brain to get her memory going.

However, Lili couldn't help but bite her lip as she focused on a different thing that Ryuu mentioned.

"Please don't call him that," she asked in a quiet tone, lowering her head. The maid blinked as she leaned back on the chair.

"Why not?" She asked, tilting her head and Lili cleared her throat with a blush, as she averted her eyes.

"Because he's not the only Noir here," she muttered, twirling her hair with her right finger, focusing on the motions in order to avoid looking at Ryuu

"O-oh. I...see," Ryuu said slowly and Lili could imagine the wide eyed look she would give her, maybe even with a bit of a flushed face. Because of that, the Pallum closed her eyes and frantically waved her hands in front of herself.

"I-it's nothing official yet! It's just…." She looked down on her fingers, as she touched the tips awkwardly, her voice becoming quieter. "W-we go-got this father daughter thing going on and-and we talked during the mission and..." She sighed, before glancing up shyly. "You get the point."

To her surprise, Ryuu looked at her with a melancholy smile and nodded in approval.

"I see. I am happy for you."

"T-thanks." Giggling awkwardly, she scratched the back of her head, before Lili coughed and tried to calm herself as she leaned forward, arms on the table. "Anyway, you and dad? Didn't you say something about having similar pasts?"

She hummed in thought. Obsidian got people killed in the dungeon, from his perspective, so that meant Ryuu had to experience something similar. It was obviously something traumatizing, which would explain why the elf "retired" so to say. Hopefully her family was there to-

Her eyes widened in realization and she slowly straightened up her back as horror crept into her expression.

"Oh gods. I am so sorry," she whispered, slowly shaking her head at her own stupidity. After all, the maid once told her that she belonged to a family.

Once.

Lili bit her lip and looked away. Now she felt like an ass for interrupting her with chit chat. When she glanced at her friend however, she took a deep breath, smile still in place, having gained a forced edge to it.

"I did hint rather heavily at it in the past, didn't I?" She shook her head at the younger girl. "I'm not mad for you not figuring it out sooner. I didn't say anything after all." Her smile fell and she looked down at her folded hands. "Yes, my family, the Astraea Family, has been slaughtered to the last person. In an ambush nonetheless. I was the only one who escaped."

The dark expression on Ryuu's face scared Lili a bit, but she suppressed the urge to back off as she curled her hands into fists. Instead, she processed the information as she tried to calm down with even breaths.

The Astraea Family. It was an exploration type family with rather strong and experienced fighters in their ranks. However, they were famous for being the "police force" of Orario, helping the population against crime and corruption. Lili wasn't as much of a fan of them as the rest of the civilians, but that was because of lingering resentment of being helpless at the hands of Soma. After all, drunks or not, they were relatively good at hiding their tracks. It didn't change the anger she felt as a little girl however, of the lack of attention the so called "helpers of justice" had in her young mind. Their disappearance were barely worth a raised eyebrow back then, as she was focused on earning her food and money to survive.

Looking at the elf, trying to maintain her composure as her fingers dug into her flesh, Lili couldn't help but feel shame for her past thoughts.

"I can remember how their leader was mocking us," Ryuu whispered quietly, her eyes filled with rage as she grit her teeth. "'Well, I wouldn't miss the heroes for anything.' This was his response when we demanded what he wanted. As if this was just a casual game for him."

A shaky breath escaped her, before Ryuu relaxed, her hands loosening up as they stopped leaving marks on themselves.

"I was filled with shame and rage after I left my people behind, like a coward," the elf muttered, as if talking to herself as her eyes were closed.

She wasn't a coward, Lili wanted to yell, but she knew better than to interrupt her. At least for now, not until Ryuu was finished. She needed to hear the whole story. Because of that, she pressed her lips together as her hand's grip on her clothes became stronger.

Anyway, the elf scoffed dismissively, shaking her head with a pained smile.

"I wish I could say what I did next was for them, but it wasn't. It was to feel better. Nay, it was the only thing I could think of doing at all, after I sent my goddess away."

The mix of dry amusement and self depreciation in her voice worried Lili. However, the girl latched onto the meaning behind those words and wracked her brain to remember the events five years ago. Her forehead furrowed in thought for a few moments, before it clicked on her.

"You are the one who destroyed the Rudra Family," Lili stated breathlessly, staring at the elf in shock.

Even as a young girl, it was hard to miss hearing about the terror that happened at the time. Sure, a family disappearing in the dungeon wouldn't make her care too much. Hearing adventurers, their friends and relatives disappear one by one like in a horror story was harder to forget. The last remnants of Evilus died a slow death and everyone knew about it. Hell, the Soma members tried to scare her with comments among the lines of "wonder if the Pallum is next". It worked, Lili remembered as she took a deep breath to calm down. The nightmares of a faceless murderer didn't help her sleep with the hunger and the abuse.

Either way, Ryuu nodded slowly, closing her eyes with the strained smile still in place.

"Destroyed...an apt word." The fake smile fell and she raised her head, staring up at the ceiling with an empty expression, emotions hidden as if she tried to avoid something. "I killed every single one of them. I didn't just go for the culprits, I went after their friends. Their family. Anyone that was associated with them. I wanted to exterminate all of them and I did."

A small laugh escaped her, more genuine than before, and her eyes regained some of the warmth Lili was used to.

"I only survived thanks to Syr. If it weren't for her, I would be dead."

The happiness lasted for only a short while however, and Ryuu's shoulders slumped as she looked down at the table. Her right hand gripped her left sleeve and Lili knew the elf well enough by now to notice the ticks of her body.

She was guilty about what she had done. Leaving her family behind and killing the culprits in blind rage. The Pallum stared at her friend with slightly narrowed, sad eyes. She couldn't help with the former. If she couldn't convince her father to discard his guilt, than Lili could definitely not to it for someone who lost people she actually knew and loved. The latter however, she could help with. Forcing her mouth corners up, she leaned forward, trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

"They deserved it, right? So you shouldn't-"

Unfortunately, she made the wrong decision.

The reaction was instant. Ryuu shot up, the chair falling down behind her, before she slammed down her hands with a furious snarl. The table cracked slightly and Lili jumped in her chair with a gasp.

"If they deserved it or not is irrelevant!" Ryuu screamed, her face red from the sudden action. The Pallum remained silent, her face frozen in place. In response to that, the elf blinked, as if coming out of a trance, before forcing herself to breathe deeply in a slow rhythm with closed eyes. With she opened them again once her breathing became steady, there was still simmering anger behind them. Quietly, she pulled her chair up again, before falling down on it. Then, she crossed her arms on the table as she looked to her right side, avoiding Lili's worried gaze.

"It does not matter. They did not matter. All that matters is what I betrayed." Her look turned to Lili and she recoiled by the amount of self loathing she faced, as tears ran down Ryuu's face. "I betrayed myself. I betrayed everything my family ever stood for. I spat on their names in so called justice, when it was simply mindless revenge!" Her voice became louder, as she threw her arms open in agitation. "I stained myself with so much blood, I sometimes still have to prevent myself from lashing out when somebody like you or Syr touches me!"

Exhaling as if she released her anger, the elf calmed down, leaning back on her chair as she folded her hands on her lap, a sad smile on her face.

"I have been branded as a criminal, forever blacklisted by the Guild. And I deserve it." She shook her head, looking up at the ceiling as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. "My goddess never returned. Not only because I never asked her to, but because she knows her family died. I died with them that day, the one who stood for justice."

Not even once, the elf sobbed, Lili realized with a pained face. Even now, Ryuu tried to be strong and Lili couldn't help but admire the way she managed to reign her emotions back, as no more tears came out. Only the reddish skin were proof of her crying.

"Why tell me all this?" Lili asked quietly, not having moved even a single finger on the table. The maid in return tilted her head, smile still in place.

"Because you are my friend. And you deserve to know who you associate yourself with. Syr is a gentle person, who would forgive anything." Her mouth corners fell, as she sighed, averting her gaze. "But you are not Syr. I would not be mad if you-"

Okay, that was it.

The Pallum shoved her chair back as she stood up, making sure it didn't fall. This action caused Ryuu to stop in her tracks, but she then closed her eyes, letting out a low chuckle as she hung her head low in acceptance. Lili grit her teeth at that. Another reason to do what she was going to do.

Her feet stomping on the ground, she made her way to her destination. As she walked, the elf's expression became more confused. Then, as she looked up with a raised eyebrow, Lili wrapped her hands around Ryuu, shoving her right arm between her and the chair back. Her body tensed in surprise, but the Pallum ignored that. And the fact that, despite being seated, Lili only managed to put her chin on Ryuu's shoulder. Damn Pallum genes.

Anyway, ignoring all that, she frowned as she ignored the confused noises that came from her friend.

"Shut up already, you idiot," she muttered, already imagining the wide look she received.

Honestly, Lili wanted to smack Ryuu for even suggesting that she would leave the elf. However, she didn't want to hit a friend, so the hug and words had to do the trick.

"I won't say that you are right, because I don't know enough about stuff like that," she started in a low voice. "I never lived through what you did, so I can't relate."

Lili moved her head slightly back to look into Ryuu's sky blue eyes. With the closeness they had, she could easily see the elf's shock at the sequence of events. Because of that, Lili giggled a little, smiling a bit.

"But what I know is that you are my friend. And I would never discard you for what you've done. You are a good person in my eyes."

In response, Ryuu's mouth thinned, her eyes slightly narrowing.

"Even if I killed all of these people like cattle?" She whispered and Lili scoffed in response.

"I would be overjoyed if you did that to the Soma Family." At the weirded out look she received, Lili shrugged sheepishly. "What? I'm not Syr, as you said. I'm not that good of a person. I'm very selfish. That includes keeping my friends, even if they say otherwise." Her grin fell and Lili moved her head back onto the shoulder, staring at the kitchen behind Ryuu. "It may not have been justice for you and you might have been going overboard, but you stopped, injuries or not. You didn't continue killing bad guys left and right, but you stayed at the Hostess even after you healed up. That tells me that you aren't as bad you think you are."

A small sigh escaped the elf as she remained motionless in Lili's arms.

"You shouldn't have to deal with this, after what happened with your father," she muttered and the Pallum couldn't help but groan.

"Could you just enjoy the hug and stay silent already?" She said annoyed and rolled her eyes. "And don't even get me started on the whole 'I'm stained with blood' thing. I'm not the cleanest Pallum in the world either."

Lili may have not killed people directly, but she knew that her hands weren't clean. A lot of people were probably hurt by her many acts, may it be stealing or guiding the thugs of her old family at them.

It did not compare to what Ryuu did, but if Lili could get a second chance in life, the elf did too, no matter what crimes she had committed.

For a while, the maid remained silent. But then, a small giggle escaped the elf and slowly shook her head slightly in what Lili assumed was exasperation.

"You are the third person to do something like this for me..." Lili grinned when Ryuu gently returned the hug. "Very well. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lili said after a giggled and squeezed a bit more to reassure her. Not to mention because the elf was actually a pretty good hugger, her body feeling soft enough to be comfortable for the girl.

She smelled really good too, Lili had to admit with a faint blush as she buried her head into her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she began to relax in Ryuu's hold, enjoying the silence the two of them share.

"Hm."

Instantly, both girls snapped their head around at the familiar, deep male voice and their mouth opened slightly in shock.

Obsidian had his arms crossed, a tired, but neutral expression on his hidden face. His clothes were dirty and tattered, more than before, and his bandages were loosened up, revealing patches of skin here and there. His hands were completely free too, the bandages ending suddenly at his wrist as if they were burned off.

He raised his right arm as he gestured at the people in his home with a raised eyebrow.

"This is not what I meant with 'my house is your house', Lili," he said in a dry tone. Immediately, the two of them became red in the face, but Lili ignored the embarrassment and instead jumped at her father with a red face.

"Dad!" She shouted, ramming into him, who casually caught her into a hug, spinning around to minimize the impact. A few spins later, he put her down to the ground and put his hand on her head, ruffling her hair which caused the girl to giggle.

"Nothing blew up while I was gone, right?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and Lili snorted as she crossed her arms at him.

"Not in Orario," she replied and he let out a small hum.

"Neat."

After raising his thumb with his left hand, he removed his right and moved past Lili and Ryuu, the latter closely behind the former, and slumped down on the chair that the Pallum previously occupied. While the elf had a disapproving look on her face for some reason, Lili couldn't care less, as the giddy grin on her face wouldn't disappear. Soon, Ryuu couldn't help but smile as well when the old man groaned and covered his eyes with his right hand as his head lied on the back of the chair.

For a while, they remained like that, the girls standing in the room, observing the man resting. Then however, he removed his hand and rolled his head a bit to look at his daughter.

"When's the expedition?" He asked with a neutral expression. Blinking in confusion, Lili tapped the side of her head with her right finger, not sure where he was going with this.

"Uhm...the executives are still discussing this. With giving the family a rest, buying the supplies and getting the money to pay for the Durendal weapons, it's going to take a few weeks maybe?" She asked more than stated, before raising her hands with a shrug. "It's my best guess. Why?"

"Reserve me a spot."

Lili's mind froze at the words and could do nothing but stare at her father, who turned his back at her to reach for the tea boiler. As he poured himself a cup, Lili regained her working brain and couldn't help but tilt her head.

"What?" She asked dumbly and ignored the sigh next to her. Obsidian turned around just as he reached for his cup and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What what?" He asked, before glancing upwards, snapping his right finger at her and looked back at Lili. "By the way, do you know if Welf does discounts? I could use some maintenance for my axe and-

The daughter immediately raised her hand, stopping him in his tracks, and took an irritated breath before slapping her hands together.

"I mean, _what_ do you mean?" She asked, moving her hands down on emphasis for the 'what'. Obsidian chuckled, shaking his head as he turned the chair around.

"I mean I am going back into the dungeon." He smiled widely, resting his arms on his legs. "Sorry it took so long."

Her eyes widened at the words, realizing what he meant. He was willing to overcome his fear at last. He was going to fight alongside her in the dungeon and be free of his guilt.

Immediately, Lili looked away and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying to suppress the hope and joy in her chest.

No, she was not going to cry or squeal in delight! It would be too embarrassing and it were only words! Not a guarantee!

Despite her thoughts, she couldn't wipe away the grin on her face nor the tears welling up in her eyes.

As if noticing her emotional distress, Ryuu stepped forward, crossing her arms with a disapproving look.

"Noir, you look horrendous," she stated bluntly. Obsidian let out a 'meh' before he dumped the tea down his throat and gulped it down in one go. Letting out a satisfied breath, the chair creaked as he moved.

"Sorry, Shop At Nowhere had closed on the weekend," he said in a dry tone as he sat down the cup. "Besides, I already was a walking fashion disaster before and I don't wanna buy new bandages."

This time, Lili couldn't hold it back.

As if a dam burst, she exploded into laughter, causing the other two to turn to her in confusion. Lili held her stomach as she wheezed in between, forcing herself to breathe. Then however, tears began to fall, and she began to sob at the same time as she expressed her joy. Strength left her legs and she fell on her knees as she furiously tried to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, to no avail. When she felt arms wrap around her, she immediately turned around and returned the hug. The laughter disappeared completely, leaving her at the whims of her own crying as she buried her head into Obsidian's shoulder.

A part of her knew she was being too emotional. After all, it was barely over a day since he was outside Orario, all by himself. But Lili didn't care as her grip on Obsidian's clothes hardened as he softly rubbed the back of her head. His usual self depreciating humor removed any doubts in her mind left.

Her father was home. He didn't leave her.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Sorcerer**

A polite chuckle rebound against the grey stone of the walls. A young woman stood inside with a smirk, leaning next to a closed window, covered by a wooden door. Her right index finger played with the tip of a certain staff.

The transparent orb, stuck between two black, wooden prongs, felt as smooth as ever to her skin. It was relatively simplistic, no extra symbols or ornaments on the long, black rod that reached her moderate chest. Overall, one would say it would be a rather boring looking staff.

Nevertheless, it radiated power, as did the owner with the false smile, as she held a rectangular device next to her left ear, black and clunky in design.

"I'll let you stew over it. This is just first contact after all. I am looking forward for our next call," she said in a polite tone and bend her knees a bit.

A click sounded through the darkened room and immediately, a long suffering groan echoed. Following that, the young woman fell down with a thud, landing in the many books that filled the small area. Putting the phone onto one of the book, she rubbed her forehead with tired eyes.

Well, that talk went well, she thought dryly. Her hand went through her brown hair, causing her short twin tails to wiggle from the motion. Here she thought that talking with a big bird who didn't speak any human language was hard. At the very least, Boss Chicken was polite and didn't ooze superiority, even if he would be justified if he did.

Shaking her head, she glanced to her left, narrowing her eyes at the clock. Ten minutes before ten. She let out a grunt, taking a deep breath and stood up with a sigh.

Time to get to work.

But first, she had to get dressed, the young woman noted as she flapped her arms, her blue sleeves flailing in the air. Couldn't go to work with pajamas after all, she thought with a giggle.

With her green eyes, she searched the area, somewhat disoriented with where the drawer actually was. When she spotted it, she carefully stepped over the books, maneuvering past them with big, wide steps in order to avoid a collapse. Once she reached it, she threw off her sleeping clothes and opened the drawer.

Moments later, she tugged at her white sleeves of trench coat, before buttoning it up, hiding her yellow shirt underneath. Then, she wiggled her legs a bit, judging the size of her blue jeans. With them fitting, she tugged her collar up with a frown.

So, where was her hat?

Looking around, she carefully stalked through the books, before she saw it's squished form at the place where she let herself fall. She chuckled awkwardly as she picked it up. Patting dirt off it and straightening it out as she kneaded it a bit, she put on the white wizard hat on her hair. With its tip pointing to her right side, she put her hands on her hips with a satisfied breath.

Now she felt complete, ready for the day.

"Magic time," she whispered and threw the doors of the window open with her right hand, while her left hand grabbed her staff.

Her grin immediately disappeared when the sun rays assaulted her face. She should really open the window more often, she thought with squinted eyes. Holding her hand in front of them, she hissed while her eyes had to adjust, before blinking away the spots.

With them gone, all complaints vanished as she smiled widely at the sight she saw.

Today, it was snowing, but not a single speck of snow landed on the city. Not only was the area heated up as usual, so that people could actually walk around in short sleeved clothing, but the snow slid away on an invisible surface. The tower she resided in was located in the middle of the city, so she could look around her with ease. Looking down, she saw the busy streets between the stone buildings with bright colored, wooden rooftops. Children playing, parents chatting, merchants selling and green robed individuals with books discussing stuff.

The peace she was witnessing...it was one of the reminders of what they managed to achieve. She never got tired of seeing this. After smelling the air one more time, cherishing the smell of progress, she cracked her neck.

Welp, enough sightseeing of her own city. She glanced down, looking at a silver colored building with a shield in front that said "Lab 3", before grinning widely.

With a "hoop", she jumped down from the tower, her body completely straight as she fell through the air. The fall lasted a few seconds, before she landed on a gel like object, dampening the impact as a muted 'plop' sounded. After she stopped sinking into it, the young woman climbed out of the yellow safety sack. After she dusted her legs off, she moved towards the laboratory she eyed from before, waving at the people passing by with a polite smile.

Then, without further ado, she threw the doors open. Reactions were immediate. Every single person inside, wearing the same green robes as some people from before, turned around. They stopped from what they were doing, from writing notes down, to handling different kinds of machines and having deep discussions. The young woman giggled and threw her arms open.

"Morning, my buddies!"

"Morning, Lady Lightbringer!" The room echoed back in unison in joy, bowing at her in sync. Her smile wavered and she sighed as she rubbed her forehead, with left hand on her hip.

"It's Luciel, damn it," she muttered, before grinning again and raising her right hand. "At ease."

They raised their heads, smiling at their leader, before returning to their work. Luciel walked past them, idly greeting individuals on the way, before she reached a wide open space, surrounded by scholars who stood behind metallic barriers. More eye catching however, were the two silver arches, decorated with different colored gems. They were slightly raised on podiums, which were ten feet away from each other. Looking down, she could spot that those podiums had several cables connecting it to different parts of the room. If one would look closely, they would see that the arches were not connected to each other in any way, instead having their own power sources and the like. Her mouth corners rose at the sight, but she also bit her lip at t he same time. Shaking her head, she decided not to wrack her head with conflicted feelings.

Instead, she looked around for a short moment. Then, she cracked her neck as she approached a console with several levers and buttons. More specifically, she approached the small man with dark brown short hair, checking the machine over. With a smirk, she put her elbow on the head and giggled when the dwarf groaned. Glancing up, he scratched his long beard in annoyance before putting his hands on his hips, not even bothering to remove her limb from his head.

"Boss, you didn't sleep in the tower again, did you?" He asked, his yellow eyes staring into her with exasperation. She in turn removed her arm and shrugged sheepishly.

"It's the closest sleeping spot to this place, Gregor," she explained and giggled when the dwarf rubbed his forehead with a sigh.

"You're causing my hair to go white with worry, you know that?"

"Well, up side to that is that I could call you Whitebeard then."

The man raised his eyebrow when she snickered a bit at her little joke. Not that she cared, since it was funny to imagine for her. He's got that earth magic down after all. He could potentially cause earthquakes, even if he would never do. Too much collateral after all. Though the size didn't fit. Whitebeard Junior maybe?

Anyway, the dwarf opened his mouth, before closing it and shaking his head.

"Not gonna question that reference..." He muttered, raising his arms in surrender, before focusing back on the console in front of him. Luciel crossed her arms behind her back, before peeking over his head, eyes narrowed at the black screen with the green letters. After her pupils traced the lines, she leaned back, nodding in satisfaction. From what she could see, the data and information on the screen fit their calculations. The question was, were they correct. It ran through Gregor's head as well, considering he turned his head at her, eyes narrowed and mouth thinned with worry.

"Boss, are you sure this is going to work?" He asked in a quiet tone, his gaze wandering to the more excited researchers in the area. She in turn scoffed at that and gestured with her right hand around.

"If I knew, we wouldn't have those barriers up and ready, would we?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Followed by that, she put the same hand onto his shoulder, nodding sagely with closed eyes. "Also, you asked me that question many times and many times you did not die."  
When she opened them again, the dwarf gave her a flat look. After a while, he rolled his eyes and turned back around.

"This should not comfort me as much as it does," he muttered as he fiddled with the machine again. Luciel chuckled and patted his head with her free, right hand.

"Love you too, little beard man," she said, ruffling his hair. Without turning around, Gregor pushed her hand away with slight irritation.

"You are lucky everyone in here likes you or else we would be very offended," he said dryly, before he pressed a blue button. A ringing noise sounded in the area and the conversations died down, replaced by footsteps and paper shuffling as people got to their stations. Once the commotion died out, the dwarf cleared his throat.

"Eleven o' clock in the morning, seventh day of summer," he shouted, his voice echoing into the hall, and pens immediately started to write. "Starting test six on the Gateway Project. Modifications made to increase power by twenty percent, with only a three percent loss in control. Distance is ten meters, outside of the lab in a prepared area. Test object, an apple." He paused and coughed awkwardly. "If we even get to that stage."

Subdued chuckling rang through the halls and Luciel winced. Still, she shook it off and dug into her pockets.

"Get your goggles up!" She yelled, putting her own on as she tugged at the black rubber a bit. Seeing the others equip their own protection gear, she grinned at the two arches and pointed at them, throwing her arm around dramatically."Alright, light it up!"

Nodding, Gregor slowly pushed a lever up, causing the cables to light up in blue color. Like a river, the energy flowed through, soon reaching the podium. From there, the crystals began to glow in a greenish shine.

"Looking good so far," the dwarf stated in a gruff tone, staring intently on his screen. "Crystals not cracking yet, energy is flowing fine. Lasting longer than before."

A short while later, the crystals began to spark and their erratic lines clashed in the middle of the arches, but quickly disappeared after the impact. However, as the dwarf pushed the lever, the energy intensified and the sparks lasted longer, until they connected in the middle and created a ball the size of a walnut.

"Yes, come on..." Luciel muttered in excitement as the ball began to grow in each of the portals.

Unfortunately, nothing could worth so smoothly.

The first sign something went wrong was the fact that the ground was shaking. It didn't gradually appear, but instead came suddenly with enough force to shake books off tables. Not to mention, while the cross point grew, it lost its round shape and began to resemble a rampaging bacteria.

"Are the vibrations supposed to be there too?" Gregor asked with a gulp, sweat running down his skin. Then, he pointed at the arches. "Or the smoke?"

"Not to that extent to the former, hell no to the latter," she replied, clicking her tongue as she saw the gates' shaking intensify. Feeling the heat rising in the room, she snapped her head left and right. "You know the drill!" She yelled, before pressing her hand against the metal wall. Quickly, Gregor and others mimicked her action, human, werepeople and dwarfs alike, touching the protective material.

Then, they poured their magic into them. In a matter of seconds, the metal glowed. Light expanded from its edges and spread out, connecting to the wall next to it. This process occurred simultaneously between each of the devices and shortly after, a blue, flickering dome covered the arches.

It was just in time, as the two objects exploded violently, the colorful energy lashing out against the shields. Unlike herself, the other magicians grit their teeth and groaned as they put more energy into the barrier, that barely held on. Luckily for them, the explosion existed only for an instance and soon only left behind black smoke. Sharing a glance with Gregor, Luciel motioned with her head at the console, not even breaking a sweat. The dwarf wiped some sweat off his forehead, breath slightly heavy, as he looked onto the screen.

When he nodded at his boss, the woman whistled loudly and removed her hands from the metal. Immediately after that, the others distanced themselves as well, and the barrier flickered, before dying out. With nothing in the way anymore, the black smoke could escape into the room and everyone began to cough.

The leader waved with her hand in front of her, holding her breath to avoid the breathing it in, before tapping with her staff on the ground. The orb glowed in a green light and she pointed her right finger upwards. In an instance, a force shot up, through the entrance holes of the chimneys, carrying the smoke with it like the wind.

With the bad air gone, the coughing slowly died out, before everyone looked at the arches.  
Or rather, what was left of it on the remnants of the podiums and the cables. The silence was deafening, as they saw their work destroyed just like that. As the chief of this operation, she knew she had to say something to break the bad atmosphere.

"Well, that went better than expected," Luciel commented with her arms crossed, frowning at the ruined devices. Her words worked as intended, as her loyal subordinate snapped his head at her with an incredulous glare.

"How did that work better than expected?!" Gregor yelled, waving his arms at the destruction. In response, she shrugged nonchalantly.

"We contained the damage. Duh." She shook her head and sighed, hands on her hips. "Well, breaking physics is as hard as I thought."

"Don't you have physics bend over your knee already?" He asked skeptically. Luciel scoffed at the words, making circles in the air with her staff.

"Yes, but it's still struggling."

This did the trick and amusement filled the air as people laughed with mixed intensity. Shaking her head in amusement, she clapped her hands loudly.

"You know the drill, boys and girls!" As the room got into motion, the sorcerer turned back to the dwarf, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms, leaning onto her staff. "So, any spontaneous ideas?"

"You could start with putting the energy in yourself," he replied dryly, crossing his arms. Rolling her eyes, she straightened herself up, her weapon in her right hand as she spread her arms open.

"Yes, but that would take away the purpose of making it self sufficient," she responded with a flat look and then pointed at herself with her free hand. "Can't have an uber sorcerer like me do it for the mass produced version after all."

"You can't even teleport yourself," Gregor countered and Luciel sighed.

"Because I don't wanna get ripped apart across dimensions. Kinda hard to test if I am dead," she replied in a sarcastic tone, before tapping her chin in thought. "I guess the problem we gotta handle for now is the containment. Better magic attuned material, more rune research. Other than that, did the machines catch any spacial warping?"

The dwarf peeked over his shoulder, leaning back a bit. After reading the data on the screen for a bit, he turned back, scratching his head with a frown.

"A little bit of a distortion, but not enough to actually punch a hole and connect the two."

Better than she expected, less than she hoped. The sorcerer scratched her chin in thought.

"So probably more power, more control." Shrugging, she breathed out before slapping her staff into her left hand, before twirling it. "Well, never expected this to be easy. We only started a few weeks ago with real testing."

At that, the man's shoulders slumped, a dark cloud forming above his head.

"After so much work put into the theory..." He muttered pitifully and she couldn't help but scoff in amusement.

"Call our science fiction session for what it is." After the dwarf chuckled at her words and raised his head, Luciel crossed her arms, leaning a bit to the left. "So, anything else on the schedule?"

Instantly, Gregor pulled out a note pad, turning pages on it, before putting his finger on the lines.  
"Well, we gotta work out the hiccups for the Gateway, there has been some other minor projects you need to look over, attend the Soul Weapon project with Lady Katon and..." He hesitated and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and rolled his head a bit, before opening them again. "Discussing the Aevians with her. The latter also want to know if you were up for some talking again. Maybe even let them...visit."

Seeing his reaction, she gave him a sympathetic look.

"Still gotta warm you guys up for the idea, hm?" She asked gently. As the dwarf sighed, Luciel couldn't help but be reminded of the issues inter-species interactions had.

The only reason she and the others didn't get lynched for the mere notion of the idea was because of everything they have done for Boundary. Nevertheless, it was the closest thing to revolts since a long time. After all, people lived so long in fear of monsters and now they were told to make peace?

It was the reason she always had to make trips to Aevian territory, the first peaceful, bird monsters in Boundary. They were a tribe, just like their non human counterparts were, consisting of different types of monsters. From her own personal experience, they could be trusted, but she also knew it was too soon to integrate their societies with each other. Because of that, they kept civilian contact to a minimum. Shino recommended to let her soldiers bond with them via combat and team focused fighting. The idea had merit, since her warriors had more discipline than anyone else. Still, Luciel had to discuss it with her, since these very same warriors killed monsters like the Aevians. She had to make a picture herself of how Shino's people would react, since her own magicians were uncomfortable at best, and they were taught to keep an open mind to things.

Speaking of uncomfortable, it would be difficult to find way of letting them enter the cities anyway. Proper landing space to avoid trouble, especially for their king. A forewarning system, perhaps, and feeding stations for them in order to rest from the flight.

Luciel sighed. Braniac had all the plans, but even he couldn't take over planning for all cities, so she and Shino were mostly responsible for the infrastructure in their city.

What a pain. Scratching the back of her head, she closed her eyes tiredly.

"Well, I need to tell them I'll see when I can-"

She stopped short, her eyes snapping open. It caused the dwarf to raise his eyebrow, but she raised her finger, mouthing 'a moment'. Then she cracked her neck as she paid attention to the beeping noise in her head. Calling forth the 'menu' to the front of her mind, she frowned who was sending her a message. Seeing the sender's name, she raised an eyebrow.

Sid.

Luciel raised an eyebrow at that. He usually replied during evening, never in the morning. Not to mention one of the other two had to message Obsidian in order to get a reply, though he did got better lately. She crossed her arm, tilting her head. Well, except yesterday, where he didn't respond at all. Maybe it was connected to that? Narrowing her eyes, she searched if there was a topic title for the 'conversation'. They rarely used it nowadays, but perhaps today was one of those rare cases.

Then, her eyes widened in shock.

There wasn't a title, but something else caught her eye. Next to his name, the word 'message' was missing. Instead, it was replaced by 'call'. Which meant he wanted to talk, actually talk, instead of just 'texting'. She gulped absentmindedly.

Obsidian never called back.

Her mind exploded with possibilities, ranging from positive to negative. He was over his trauma. He was about to commit suicide. Something important happened that he had to call. He was trolling her.

Whatever it was, Luciel didn't hesitate to turn to Gregor with a serious expression.

"Clear the schedule." She turned her back to him, already walking away. "I don't know how long this is going to take."

It spoke volumes of how much he respected her, considering he didn't put up any fuss about her decision. She had to give him a raise someday.

Anyway, as she hurried out of the building, she raised her staff towards her window in the tower. The orb began to glow in a grey color, and an instant later, she pulled herself up with an invisible power. The moment she reached her book filled room, she slammed the doors shut, the room darkening immediately because of it.

Taking a deep breath, she let herself fall against the wall, her back skidding off on it, before her bottom touched the ground. With her legs stretched out and her staff lying against the window, Luciel closed her eyes.

At last, she shivered as she accepted the call, the beeping noise immediately stopping.

"Who's there?" She whispered in a low tone. For a while, she received nothing but silence. But just as she began to shake, gritting her teeth in frustration, she heard exhausted breathing inside her head.

"I didn't say knock knock yet."

Luciel's breath stopped.

His voice. His deep, deadpan voice he used for their jokes. It had been almost two entire years since she last heard them. She took a shaky breath, before sending a mental request for "video." She didn't have to wait long for it to be accepted, as light radiated from her right palm. An instant later, and a screen appeared, like a hologram, illuminating the room she was in. That was when she laid eyes on him.

Just as it was reported, he was hiding his face with those black bandages and his worn out black cloak. However, his brown eyes weren't as dead as she feared. They only looked tired.

"Hey," she said quietly, choking back tears. With a sniff, she forced herself to calm down and cracked a smile at her comrade. "You look like shit."

"Feel like shit," he replied, scoffing in amusement as he shook his head. "More than usual."

She chuckled at the comment, but stopped when she heard leaves rustling in the background. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, before she leaned back with an incredulous look.

Was that a tree he was sitting at?

"Where the hell are you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and the man shrugged.  
"Seolo Forest." He lazily twirled his left hand with a sigh. "Outside Orario. Or...well, what's left of this area."

"What did you do?"

At her worried tone, Obsidian winced as he closed his eyes.

"Explode." He paused and opened his eyes again. "With rage."

Naturally, Luciel tilted her head with a frown.

"Context please."

With that, he began to explain. The event with the bandits she and the other predicted, the fighting, but more importantly, the reason for his outburst. With two people close to him, so to say, leveling up like the gang did in the old days? Yeah, she could see how that would trigger him.

From there, Obsidian began to vent, and she patiently listened. How he was stagnating for years while others could overcome their weaknesses with ease. How he felt he betrayed everything they stood for, to never give up. During all that, she didn't say anything, as much as she wanted to. No sign of happiness that he got friends in Orario. Not anger at his self depreciation. Not even slight irritation was on her mind over the fact that he didn't do a good job of establishing a foothold in the dungeon city.

Luciel was content to remain calm, as she had to for his sake. And hearing him talk made it easy, as it soothed her worries that she would have lost him for good. Once he ran out of breath, he wiped his eyes, as they were getting wet, and diverted to more pleasant chit chat. Now, the sorcerer could actually chime in. Some of their topics the two of them already knew, but letter couldn't convey the feelings they had at the memories.

For example, Luciel could obviously tell how much he actually cared for this "Riveria", only talking good about her, with the negatives being taken in stride.

Gotta remember that one.

But it went further than that. The team he was training, how he enjoyed beating them up and seeing them grow. The bullshit they apparently had or at least the potential of it. Other than that, he gave her details about good food spots, shops for comfort and the social climate of the city.

She in return told him the progress of her projects, including her last mishap with the gateway, more details about the Aevians, leaving out their leader with a giggle, and the growing of Boundary in general.

After what felt like hours of talking, he finally reached the topic of Liliruca Arde directly, the girl he took in. But for some reason he froze when he said her name and slapped his forehead with a groan.

"Oh man, I gotta go home to my daughter after being gone so long..." He muttered and Luciel's brain froze. Once she repeated the words in her head, she raised her left hand with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, we are definitely going to punch you later. Since when did you get laid?!" She exclaimed in shock. The way he was talking about the high elf made it sound like he didn't seal the deal yet! Fortunately for her sanity, he rolled his eyes and gave her a flat look.

"Talking about Lili. She's adopted. Or is going to be." He chuckled and shook his head. "Also, she is fourteen, so I skipped the annoying parts of parenthood."

"You lucky bastard," she commented with a smirk and crossed her left arm over her right. "You bonded that much?"

"Hm."

Despite the nonchalant shrug, she could tell that Obsidian was actually blushing. Giggling, she tilted her head at him.

"Good for you. Got worried you wouldn't make any friends without us." She blinked, before looking down with a hesitant expression. "Or...family...Real weird to imagine I'm an aunt now."

"Sorry about that," he replied, bowing his head a bit, not sorry at all judging from his grin. Then, his smile fell and he averted his eyes with a sigh. "Anyway...That's it. Have people here to help me out, sufficiently pissed off...I think I'll try the dungeon again."

Silence fell in her room and Luciel stared at him in shock. She knew from his rant that he was fed up with himself, but for his emotions to reach the boiling point like that? It gave her hope, but she wasn't sure what to say, as she pressed her lips together. Obsidian interrupted the silence, shaking his head as he stared down at the ground.

"I don't know if I can do this without you, but..." He sucked in air through his teeth and looked up, his face determined. "I'll try, damn it." His features softened as he chuckled. "Hopefully I didn't fall behind too much."

At that, Luciel couldn't help but giggle, before waving her hand in exaggeration.

"Oh, it's just about two years. No biggie. Just do what you always do," she said in a casual tone. Raising an eyebrow at her, he leaned forward at the screen.

"Being badass?" He asked sarcastically and her smirk only widened.

"Being retarded."

"We all are, I'm not special," Obsidian replied with a scoff and the two of them gave each other a pointed look.

Then the damn burst and they wheezed loudly, as their laughter became out of control. After such a long time and they were still on the same wavelength. Luciel had to cover her stomach, struggling to keep the screen steady with her right hand, while Obsidian hammered his fist down on the ground, fighting to do the same with his left hand. Still, as fun as this was, they slowly tuned it down, knowing that they had to stop. Both laughing and keeping up this call. The sorcerer spent enough time than she could afford to in this room and the mummy should really get back home. The two of them knew that they couldn't talk forever anyway. But she still had to get something of her chest, as she calmed down.

"I believe in you," she said suddenly, but gently. For a while, he stared at her with wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed a few times, uncertainty filling his expression. But in the end, he took a shaky breath.

"I love you," he whispered, his smile wide and genuine underneath those bandages, and for a moment, Luciel saw his real face. Because of that, she smiled back, not bothering to hold back her tears anymore.

"Love you too."

* * *

 **Interlude: The Hearth II**

The Denatus. The meeting of the gods. Gathering inside the halls of the guild, most deities gathered to attend the regular meeting. It was held in order to share information and foster deeper relationships between gods and families alike. Negotiations were held, deals were made, and intel from inside and outside the dungeon was told. And at last, the title ceremony. It was one of the many tasks of the Denatus, to give their adventurers new names, aliases, to properly respect their achievements.

That was the official explanation anyway. Unofficially, it was a meeting of gossip, and a contest to figure out how to embarrass their rivals the most by giving their children the most stupid names they could think of. Few mortals could read behind the lines, actually thinking the aliases were cool and that their gods agreed. In some case, that was true, but in an ironic sense.

Suffice to say, Hestia played around with her thumbs as she sat at the round table, sweating nervously at the glee and schadenfreude the other gods radiated in prospect of the alias naming. While they didn't reach the point yet, the little girl couldn't help but feel nervous already, as she bit her lip.

Hopefully neither Bell nor Lisa would get dealt with bad names. But considering her ranking in the hierarchy of Orario, she didn't have much hope. Not to mention, their luck with names was horrendous after all, surname for the latter and the skill name for the former. The memory made her grin and she held her cheeks with a blush. Heavens above, why did Bell have to be so cute?! As if it wasn't enough that his face and general behavior was adorable, the blessing had to bend its back to ensure that his cuteness was overloaded! The others didn't have names that were set to cause direct embarrassment, like Welf Vision or Infinite Shift! His reaction was too cute! Revealing his dream and his face instantly turned red and he stuttered like the c-

"Hestia, you are making a scene."

The exasperated, female voice to her left snapped her out of it and she coughed awkwardly, averting her eyes with a red face when she noticed the stares she was receiving. Shrinking down on her chair, she laughed awkwardly at the flat look she received from Hephaesus. It was amazing how much a single eye could convey without even moving an eyebrow.

"Sorry!" Rubbing the back of her head awkwardly, she smiled sheepishly. "Just...kinda nervous. Two new kids, getting their alias..."

The blacksmith in turn sighed, but smiled fondly at her friend, patting her on the head.

"I know that feeling," she said, nodding at the memory while Hestia enjoyed the patting session with a blissful expression. She pouted when Hephaestus stopped and crossed her arms. "I'll do my best to help you out, but don't expect any miracles. I only have one vote, after all."

Despite the stern face, Hestia smiled at her friend and bowed her head as she folded her hands.

"Thanks!"

Then, her smile fell and she grabbed her left elbow as she bit her lip. Seeing Hephaestus, who tilted her head in confusion, reminded her of the debt she took to afford the Hestia Knife. Or rather, the debt she already got rid off, after her children insisted. It left a bad taste in her mouth. After all, she did promise to work it off on her own and days later, she spat on that.

"Are you mad?" She muttered and weakly twirled her right hand. "About...the debt thing. I mean, it wasn't my own money and it got paid off so fast..."

Raising her head slightly, she looked at her seat neighbor. To her surprise, Hestia only received a raised eyebrow as a reaction. Hephaestus crossed her arms and let out a scoff.

"I would have been mad if you had rejected it out of a sense of stupid pride." With an approving grin, she nodded at the smaller goddess. "Family comes first and I know you would have worked your bones off to settle the debt."

Seeing the compassion in her face, the twin tailed woman couldn't help but choke back a sob, as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hephaestus..."

Chuckling lightly, the blacksmith crossed her arms as she leaned back on her chair.

"Still, I appreciate that you want to work part time for me."

Immediately, Hestia perked up, putting her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest.

"Well, can't just sit around at home all day and I know how to sell thanks to Lisa!"

While the maid-like outfit she wore was kind of embarrassing, she enjoyed the customer service she did in one of Hephaestus' shops. Even though she didn't have to, she still wanted to repay her friend for the knife, if only out of her own pride. Suffice to say, she was rather good at her job, thanks to working at a food stall and at New Age respectively. The woman with the eye-patch agreed, as she nodded approvingly with a teasing grin.

"I was surprised at how good you managed to swindle people of their money," she commented dryly and Hestia huffed in response, raising her chin up haughtily.

"I didn't swindle, I advertised."

They remained silent for a while, before starting to giggle as they covered their mouths.

"Alright, people! Let's get to the main event!" Loki suddenly announced loudly as she clapped her hands together. Instantly, the atmosphere changed at the table and the two goddesses ceased any talk as they straightened up their backs in attention.

It was time to decide the adventures' aliases. With that, the chaos began. One by one, the profiles of their children were brought out and judgment was called upon them and their gods. Hestia expected it to be a blood bath.

Oh, how innocent she was.

"Hm, looks edgy...Dark Blade Master?"

"Please have mercy!"

"Super Shadow Warrior!"

"Black Edge!"

"Oh, that one is good!"

Leaning back with pale horror written all over her face, the goddess witnessed how everyone at the table essentially jumped at each other like sharks smelling blood. And that weren't even the worst names. Bun Bun Blaster, Cross X…It was even more horrifying than she ever imagined! A part of her wanted to speak up, to prevent some suffering for a few children. But then she remembered the smiling faces of Bell and Lisa in her head and she bit her lip, guilt filling her face.

"Yeah, I felt like that too." Hephaestus squeezed her shoulder with a wry smile and let out a deep sigh. "You get used to it."

"I don't wanna get used to it!" Hestia hissed back, her eyes not leaving the sight of gleeful and broken gods at the same table.

"Oh, Aiz Wallenstein! Level six, congrats!"

Immediately, her eyes narrowed as the mood changed to a more...disgusting aura, as far as the male gods were concerned.

Wallenstein.

Now, she knew that her behavior towards the Sword Princess was unacceptable. After all, she appeared to be like a sweet girl. Not to mention that she worked hard from what she heard. Judging from their interactions, Aiz seemed socially awkward, shy even, and was almost as innocent as Bell, if one would ignore the usual 'adventurer instinct'. Especially her reactions when Hestia mispronounced her name on purpose. Honestly, under any other circumstances, they would probably get along rather nicely.

But heaven forbid, if Wallenstein wouldn't stop being so damn attractive and hook, line, sinker her cute child every time she barely even looks at him, innocent or not, Hestia was going to choke someone.

Anyway, conflicted feelings aside, the goddess tuned back on the current discussion. She wrinkled her nose when she realized it was less of a discussion but more of a fanboy session over the Sword Princess. Glancing around, she could tell she wasn't the only goddess thinking that.

"How about 'Bride of the Gods', eh?" One god proposed and all of his fellow men nodded in approval.

"Yeah!"

Before Hestia could express her disgust at whoever came up with the idea, a chill ran down her spine. Shuddering, her eyes snapped to the goddess that 'owned' Aiz. For once, her smug grin was completely absent, a deep frown in its place, with her eyes open in a glare. It was rare to see Loki's eyes to begin with, which made the impact so much stronger as the talking died in an instant as they felt the death glare as Hestia did. For a while, silence reigned, before the trickster god took a deep breath.

"I'll kill you," she stated in a serious tone, not a hint of her casual self in her voice. Immediately, the male gods straightened up in attention.

"Message received! Moving on!"

Instantly, Loki closed her eyes and grinned as usual. Hestia rolled her eyes at the behavior. Serious in one moment, annoying in the next. She shook her head with a scoff, her mouth corners twitching a little.

To think that she would be on the same page as Loki one day. If people would act like that towards her own children, with such perversity, the goddess of hearth would probably react the same way.

"Now...Welf Crozzo...Wait, isn't that…?"

Heads turned towards her direction, and Hestia instinctively leaned away as everyone stared at Hephaestus. To her credit, the blacksmith smiled politely as she folded her hands in front of her, elbows on the table.

"Yes, it is my child." She tilted her head, eye closed in a threatening manner. "So I would appreciate if you won't give him an embarrassing name."

"Is that a threat?" Loki asked with crossed arms and a smirk. Hephaestus shrugged in response as she leaned back, smile still in place.

"Who knows?" She asked, casually twirling her hair in her right index finger. For a moment, the gods stared at her in silence, before Loki let out a chuckle.

"Not going to risk it," she muttered, before raising her hand lazily. "Ignis. All in favor?"

"Aye."

So that was the power of influence. Hestia gulped with wide eyes, before turning to her friend with a frown.

"Doesn't that sound kinda boring?" Her friend raised an eyebrow, pleased smile still in place. Hestia raised both of her hands, as if balancing two items. "I mean...fire...blacksmith..."

"Better boring than embarrassing."

Seeing the shrug, Hestia couldn't help but agree, before she focused back on the name discussion.

"Next up...Liliruca Arde."

The goddess smiled at that name. Unlike Aiz, or anyone in Flat-Loki's family really, she actually liked the Pallum. Hard working, relatively polite, not to mention helps out Bell all the time, ignoring the family issues between herself and Loki. Hearing tidbits of her past only caused her to feel more sympathy for the girl. She was even jealous of how well the girl ended up, considering that very past. Though it would be natural, she thought, considering the adorable relationship Lili had with Obsidian.

Hestia then frowned and crossed her arms. Though for some reason a small part of her had the same distaste towards her as most of her had towards Aiz. She wondered what the reason for that was, since Lili showed zero interest in Bell. She shrugged, deciding not to break her head over it. Anyway, the male gods were more wary this time from voicing their opinions over the Pallum's appearance, judging from their nervous looks they sent to the goddess that owned said girl.

"Might as well call her Liliruca Noir in the future..." Loki muttered with a fond grin, before crossing her legs on the table, hands folded behind her head. "My kid and she doesn't have any special wishes. You know what to do."

With that said, the stream of names broke through like a dam. Though it appeared that Loki felt picky today, considering she vetoed them in the same speed as they were put up.

"How about Braver Bride?" The goddess of harvest, Demeter, cooed as she clapped her hands together. "Don't you think that they would be cute together?"

Hestia blinked and tilted her head. Finn and Lili? Well, both were Pallum and from what she heard, the captain did spend time training her. She could certainly see it. But judging from the sarcastic laugh, the trickster did not share that opinion.

"Sure, Demeter," Loki said in an innocent tone, before her grin gained an evil edge. "If you wanna get snapped in half by her teacher. Or dad, really."

While the busty goddess' smile faltered and other god appeared confused, Hephaestus and Hestia shared a knowing, wry smile.

Right, there was that obstacle in the way. While Obsidian didn't admit it, he did act like a typical father from time to time.

"Okay, no go it is..." Demeter muttered dejected, slumping down on the chair. Loki on the other hand sighed and clapped her hands together.

"Come on, where is your creativity?"

"Dynamo," a young female voice Hestia couldn't place recommended and she tilted her head. That's a word she never heard of. Was it some story book term? Leaning forward at bit, she spotted the person who said that. It only caused her eyebrows to go up, as she did not recognize the green haired girl, grinning widely from side to side. With the white summer dress, she dressed as casual as she was seated, with her chin on her right hand and her elbow on the table. Hell, she even sat sideways, which Hestia believed was a little disrespectful. Despite the small height, gods were rather old after all. Then again, she thought with a wry smile, she looked around at the table and spotted not so wise acting gods.

"The hell is a-" Loki stopped short when her gaze moved to the girl and did a double take. Then, she slammed her hands on the table with disbelief as she pulled her legs back down. "Gaia?!"

The room exploded in hushed talked and whispers at the revelation, while Hestia's eyes widened in shock. Then however, she glared at the girl in question. So that was Gaia. The one who abandoned her own children to a death trap of a continent. Hestia would have loved to tell this newcomer what she thought about the small girl, but she knew that she couldn't do that in front of everybody. Though it was tempting.

"Sup," Gaia said, popping the p as she lazily raised her left arm.

Very tempting, she thought as she let out a small growl.

"Why are you here?" Loki asked as she glared at the culprit in question. "You never come here. You are an unsocial little brat!"

"Felt like it."

The shrug caused the trickster to bristle up, but before things could escalate, Demeter politely raised her hand, sweating nervously at the rising tensions.

"Uhm, what's a dynamo?"

"It's a device that generates electricity by doing specific motions with it. Like turning a wheel fast with your foot or something like that. The faster you move, the more energy is produced," Hephaestus elaborated and the room let out a collective "ooh" at the knowledge. While Hestia wasn't the most intelligent person in the world nor was she that interested in technology, she had to admit that the idea sounded nice, as a former poor person. Maybe she should ask Lisa to hook her up with one? Saving up money was always a good idea, she thought with a nod as she leaned back, hands on her lap.

Anyway, Loki seemed torn at the idea, judging from the way she bit her lip. Or rather, torn between taking the name or refusing out of simple spite. In the end, she let out a sigh.

"I guess Dynamo sounds good enough." She shrugged and wrote the name down lazily with her right hand. "Fits her lightning theme, so why not?"

"You could also make a pun of her being... _dynamic_."

The resounding, collective groan in the room made the room rumble and Gaia's smug grin only widened as she chuckled and stretched her arms forward. Loki looked like she wanted to say something through her gritted teeth, but in the end, she remained silent. Once everyone recovered from the pain, they moved on with business. Hestia's breath stopped when she saw whose name was next and barely felt the reassuring squeeze on her shoulder.

"Lisa..." The trickster trailed off and blinked. Then, she looked up at her 'rival' and gave her a look of disbelief. "Moneymaker? Is this a joke?"

The goddess of hearth laughed awkwardly as she scratched her right cheek.

"There is a reason they don't tell other people their last name..."

The snickering in the room made it clear that people shared the opinion and she regretted writing down the name in the first place when they came up with a name.

Coin Shield.

Obviously Hestia tried her best to object, but she got rolled over like a cockroach by a carriage. Hephaestus half heartedly attempted to help her. Obviously though, it was useless and all she could think was that it could have been worse. There was one close call about the fact that it only took her two months and a half to level up. Luckily, Gaia out of all people covered for her and stated that Boundary was the hell hole it was rumored to be. When some didn't believe her, she just shrugged and stated that she only said the truth and didn't care if somebody didn't believe her.

With that, the heat was off Lisa and Hestia was thankful for the brat. Maybe she could even forgive the callous behavior towards her own children.

However, she wasn't quite off the hook yet. After all, she still had a second child in her family.

"Bell Cranel. Leveled up under a month. Phew, that's insane," a god she didn't know said in an impressed tone and she bit her lip in anticipation. Perhaps nobody would notice?

Of course, her prayer went unanswered.

"Yeah, a little too insane," somebody just had to point out and furrowed his forehead in thought. "Like...I can somewhat get the other rookies. They all have a couple of years in the dungeon, while this Lisa has her...thing going on." In demonstration, he waved his hand at the paper. "But this? This is not normal."

Before she could even open her mouth, more and more voices chimed in, ranging from jealousy to straight up anger.

"Yeah, what's up with that, Hestia?! Where do you get all these overpowered kids?!"

"Yeah, what's so special about that kid?!"

"Cranel does not come from Boundary, does he?"  
"Nope."

She did a double take at the last voice and she glared at the girl casually sipping on some juice. Hestia took everything back, the brat was going to get slapped after this! So much for backing her up! However, her glare didn't last long, as she shrunk back in her seat when the voices grew louder, demanding answers. Helplessly, she sent a pleading look at her friend, who bit her lip and remained silent.

Hephaestus hesitated and the Goddess of Hearth couldn't fault her. This was a heated situation and she couldn't really afford to paint a target on her back. But Hestia couldn't reveal the truth either or make them back off. She didn't have enough influence to protect Bell in this situation.

"You guys are yapping around too much."

The talking stopped immediately at the bored voice and while she was thankful for the intervention, she couldn't believe her ears.

It was Loki who spoke up, lazily checking her fingernails as she leaned back on her chair. Hestia blinked for a moment, before her mouth opened wide.

Did...did Loki cover for her?! Loki?!

"Hoh...I did not expect you to cover for Hestia. I thought you hate her?"

If he managed to provoke her, Loki didn't show it as she waved him off dismissively.

"Don't misunderstand. It's pretty simple why the boy leveled up that fast, isn't it?"

"Why?" Demeter asked, tilting her head and Loki spread her arms open with a smug expression.

"Why, my family of course. That's it." Laughing at the incredulous faces she received, she shook her head. "I mean...who gets to have the personal attention of my dear Aiz and do some good work during an expedition? Coupled with some other personal training on top of killing a strong opponent he shouldn't have been able to beat...Well, not so crazy anymore, is it?"

"Are you saying that your family is the reason he got so strong?" Someone asked in a skeptical tone, but Hestia couldn't place it as she was busy gaping at the trickster casually supporting her.

"Well, we are one of the strongest, aren't we?" She replied smugly and Loki twirled her right hand. "Besides, a record holder training another record holder...I just know the falna is a sucker for those stories."  
"I agree," a smooth, female voice chimed in before anyone else could complain. Heads turned yet again and their gaze fell on Freya, who held her chin between her hands. Seductively, she tilted her head and made the male gods swoon immediately.

"Isn't it fine anyway? The status of someone is an internal affair anyway. By all means, we have no right to pressure poor Hestia like this." She turned her head to said goddess and bowed her head politely. "I apologize. I should have stopped them when they talked about your first child."

"O-oh, it's...fine?" She replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion. To be honest, she wasn't close to the goddess of love at all and she was creepy in Hestia's eyes. However, she would take any help she could get and didn't comment on that. Anyway, Freya chuckled and tilted her head ever so slightly, causing yet another mix of lovey dovey and jealousy in the room.

"Anyway...who can honestly say they ever saw someone fight a minotaur alone? A rare occasion warrants a rare level up."

With two most influential goddesses backing Hestia up, the other gods began to hesitate. It was in that moment, that Hephaestus decided to chime in with a stern expression.

"You can't just bully her because she's new in this."

This managed to do the trick and the gods backed off one by one.

"Well…"

"I guess..."

"If you put it like that..."

With that, the atmosphere changed back to casual, as they focused on actually giving Bell a name.

Little Rookie, which was luckily vetoed for being too generic, was only one of the many...demeaning names that were used. All of them were a variation of cute for Bell. As much as she agreed on his adorableness, she would not wish something like that upon her child. Naturally, her wish was not granted.

"I vote for Little Rabbit, personally," Gaia commented and to Hestia's horror, it gained traction as other deities gave it their vote.

In the end, it was the name Bell received and all she could do was sigh in exhaustion as the meeting was officially over. Feeling a hand pat her back, she gave a tired smile at Hephaestus.

"Well, at least it's cute.." She muttered. Noticing someone approach her made her look up and her smile vanished when she saw Loki walk towards her. She coughed awkwardly and scratched her cheek as she addressed the trickster. "Oh. Hey...L-Loki. Uhm-"

"Save it, it hurt me as much as it hurt you. Only did it for my kids, not for you," Loki immediately interrupted her, blushing slightly as she averted her eyes with crossed arms. Hestia huffed in response, crossing her arms as well.

"Good. I thought heaven was falling down on us." Her frown fell and she smiled a bit at her helper. "Seriously though. Thanks."

Lok felt as awkward as she felt, judging from the way she scratched the back of her head. For some reason however, her expression turned serious as she leaned in.

"Listen..." She whispered and glanced to the side, eyes narrowed. "Watch out for Freya."

Hestia in turn rolled her eyes and let out a scoff.

"I'm not that blind. She obviously wants my kid, so she'll have to go over my dead body to do so." After she waved her hand dismissively, she blinked when Hephaestus and Loki stared at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"You sure you're Boob-Loli?" The trickster asked and the blacksmith nodded in agreement. Puffing her cheeks up, Hestia glared at the two. As the two laughed at her reaction, she grumbled angrily, before remembering someone else. Slamming her hands on the table, she snapped her head at the seat of the target with a deep frown.

"Gaia! I got a bone- And she's gone," Hestia finished lamely, as she gave a blank stare at the chair that was now empty. Then she clicked her tongue in irritation. "Damn it."

"Does that always happen?" Hephaestus asked behind her and she could feel the tired aura radiating from Loki as she let out a long suffering groan.

"Every time I meet her, yes."

Huh, first time she ever felt pity for her. What a surprise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Awakening 12.1**

Her head hanging low, Lili wandered through the streets, trailing behind her team as an awkward silence was between them. Equipped in their adventurer gear, one would expect that the Pallum would be more excited for their trip, especially with their new aliases. However…

"I am so sorry about my dad, I don't know what got into him..." She muttered in an embarrassed tone, causing the rest of the team to chuckle awkwardly at the memory. He may have not wanted to come off like that, but Obsidian acted like a giant asshole.

Right after they heard that the new names were released, they rushed to the guild to read the handouts. Once they...reacted appropriately, they all made their way to Obsidian, for their training and to thank him that they even got as far as they did, due to his training. But when they have told him, he reacted not as expected.

For a moment, he had been silent. Then, he clutched his stomach and wheezed, as if he ran out of air, before taking a deep breath and breaking out into hysterical laughter, not able to say a word as he pointed his finger at them. It was obvious that he was making fun of them and he did not stop when they decided to call the training off and leave. Which led them to now, where the Pallum pouted at the memory.

Lili had to say, she was quite satisfied with her own name, since it was quite clever, so her father could stick it.

"Our names are cool, right?" Welf asked in a low tone, scratching the back of his head as he glanced at the others. While the Hestia family remained silent, Lili shook her head and shot him a grin.

"Mine is cool and I think yours is as well."

The blacksmith grinned back and raised his right arm.

"High five."

After hitting their hands together, the Pallum looked at the other two with sympathy. Unlike her or Welf's name, theirs were...well...

Coin Shield and Little Rabbit. Not exactly the most inspiring of titles. While the former could be stretched into something with Lisa's merchant and defense theme, the latter was pretty cut and dry in what the gods thought about Bell. Said adventurer still had a dark cloud over his head as he "led" them with his shoulder slumped at the topic. Seeing that, his senior chuckled awkwardly and pat him on the back.

"Well, it's all a matter of taste, right?" She pointed at herself with a grin when Bell glanced up at her. "I think mine's funny too. He just...well, found it more funny?"

Instead of cheering up however, the Argonaut let out a deep sigh.

"I can't even blame him..Why does it have to be rabbit…?" He muttered depressed and it was hard not to giggle at the fact that he lived up to his new title. She could see the non existent rabbit ears falling down in a sad manner. Welf didn't have the same self control and laughed in a good natured manner as he slammed the captain with his left arm a few times.

"Maybe you should invest in a hat to avoid the name!"

This caused Bell to smile slightly, raising his head a bit higher than before.

"Maybe..."

He cheered up right on time, Lili thought with a grin, as they saw their destination close by, the dungeon entrance.

However, just as they were about to enter the building that held the entrance, a male voice cheerfully sounded through the streets rather loudly.

"Hey, Minotaur Slayer!"

Due to the circumstances of his level up, Bell turned around almost immediately, blinking in confusion. Following his gaze, all of them raised an eyebrow at the person that approached them.

While it wasn't polite, Lili could only think one thing: The cheerful voice did not fit the man's appearance at all. If she hadn't met Obsidian, this man would be one of the shadiest people she had ever met.

To follow that cliché, the man was purely dressed in dark colors, though they ranged from light grey to dark grey. Long sleeves that almost completely covered his gloved hands and thick boots, a hood that shadowed his face and deep red eyes almost completely covered by his white strands of hair. Also, for some reason she couldn't fathom, there were belts everywhere on his body. Not only around his hip, but also around his arm, leg, stomach, and wherever else they were. And of course the man had a scythe. Not the one a grim reaper would use, but rather a normal one. However, with the chain attached to it, it still showed a rather grim picture.

Lili paused at the last thought and winced in pain. Okay, that was not on purpose.

As the man got closer, she could see his teeth as he grinned widely, and her initial suspicion of him being a human wavered. After all, the teeth were a little sharper than human teeth usually were...a hooded were person, maybe?

Anyway, the stranger reached them by the time Lili finished her analysis, and put his hands on his hips with a satisfied breath, as if the walk exerted him a bit.

"Man, can't believe I managed to find you just like that!" He extended his left hand towards Bell, his teeth vanishing behind his closed smile. "Grim Orphic! A real pleasure to meet you!"

The rookie in question blinked, staring at the hand in incomprehension, before he awkwardly moved his own left hand to shake. Lisa giggled at the scene and teasingly poked her captain in the left side with her elbow.

"Just leveled up and already got a fan. Impressive, Minotaur Slayer."

Bell blushed slightly at the name and Lili and Welf couldn't help but chuckle as well. Who would have thought that the rookie would become famous enough to have an admirer? Said admirer scratched the back of his head after he pulled his hand back and gestured towards Bell, grin still in place.

"Well, who wouldn't be after seeing that awesome fight?"

At the hooded person's words, Bell's eyes widened in surprise.

"You were there?"

Laughing awkwardly, Grim put his hands on his hips, grimacing a bit a the memory.

"Yeah, sorry about not helping, but unwritten rule in the dungeon: Someone calls dibs, nobody interferes until the bitter end." A small pause later and he coughed into his left fist. "Well, it's my unwritten rule."

"Oh. Uhm...Thank you? For...giving me the chance, I guess," Bell replied, averting eye contact in embarrassment. While the hooded man smiled in a good natured manner, he made a dramatic bow as he replied with a 'you're welcome".

However, Lili narrowed her eyes at the behavior.

Something felt off about this man. Maybe it was paranoia, one of the few personality traits that stuck with her since birth. But while it could be shrugged off that he could have been just a random bystander that Bell didn't spot or that his clothing style didn't add up with such a cheerful demeanor, her gut told her that it was weird. Because of that, she crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow.

"If you were there, why didn't you stick around to help him?" She asked in a skeptical tone. While Lisa gave her a small nod with a neutral expression, the men stared at her in confusion. But the man in question quickly recovered and blushed as he scratched his left cheek.

"The Loki family arrived before I could do anything and they seemed to have a good relation with you." A chuckle escaped him as he shrugged, palms pointed towards the sky. "Certainly were better equipped in helping him than me. Felt too awkward to approach after that, with you being unconscious and all."

Lili let out a grunt at that, frown still in place. It did sound valid enough and poking around more might be too pushy. Luckily for her, Lisa decided to increase the pressure for her. Despite the grin on her face, she leaned in, face closer to the stranger's private space.

"Was it that impressive?" Her smile faltered a bit, before she raised her hand at her junior captain. "No offense, Bell."

While he gave her a strained smile, showing that it didn't affect him too much, Grim's expression turned soft. Well, as soft as it could be with the hood and creepy theme he had going.

"To be honest, it wasn't his skill that impressed me. It was still cool, don't get me wrong." He raised his left fist and held it against his chest as he took a shuddering breath. "It was that spirit I saw!"

Lili's eyes widened in surprise. Normally adventurers respected strength over everything else and most people, while probably impressed, wouldn't have such a high opinion as the man in front of them did. Glancing to her sides, she could see that the others were surprised as well. Maybe there was more to him than she thought?

Lowering his head, Grim put his hands on Bell's shoulders, eyes sparkling with awe.

"No real hesitation. Only one goal, and that was to win for..." He trailed off and chuckled awkwardly. "Well, whatever it was you wanted." His face then turned more serious as he nodded with approval. "You could have just run away, but you didn't."

The Pallum blinked at the words and turned her head towards the blushing boy in question with the rest of the team. That was the first time Lili ever head any of this. Though Bell seemed to be the type to downplay his own achievements, because he didn't want to appear arrogant. Which would be the last word she would ever describe him with, she thought dryly.

Anyway, coughing awkwardly, he scratched his left cheek after removing the hands from his shoulder.

"Hehe...I-I did want to level up," he said as he averted his eyes, trying to wave his deed off. But then, he took a deep breath and his face became more confident as he put on a smile and made eye contact again. "And it could have hurt others if I didn't fight it."

Sometimes Lili forgot how damn selfless he was. It was definitely not healthy. More reasons to keep an eye on him, she thought as she saw him scratch his cheek with a small blush. As if he was just a love struck boy talking about the weather.

Well, he was a love struck boy usually, but not now.

Anyway, Lisa was the first to recover and filled the silence with a loud laugh.

"Guess that hero dream won't be far off with that attitude!" The merchant exclaimed happily as she slapped his back. While he stumbled forward a bit, he shot her a frown.

"Lisa!"

The team joined her in her laughter, as the rookie pouted at them. Teasing Bell was just too easy and enjoyable, Lili had to admit. As they tried to calm down, she glanced at the stranger to her right. The sight made her raise her eyebrow, as her smile wavered a bit.

His eyes were wide, as if he couldn't believe what he saw. Lips quivering, it was like he tried to form words, but couldn't due to a storm inside his head. But then, Grim began to breathe again, before his face split into a wide, ecstatic grin, face filled with approval as he stared at Bell.

"We really need more people like you," he muttered and shook his head with a sigh. "Nowadays, most adventurers are all talk and no bite." He pressed his lips together in frustration as he held his left fist in front of himself. "They don't risk it anymore for their dreams!"

Well, wasn't he a...excitable person, Lili thought as she leaned away a bit, sharing a weirded out look with the others, Bell excluded. Speaking of him...

"Do...you want to join us?"

His hesitant offer was answered by his other teammates snapping his head at him in disbelief. Being in the center of the incredulous stares, he shrank into himself nervously, head hiding behind his shoulders. Meanwhile, Grim seemed pleasantly surprised by the offer, as he held his hands up with a wide grin.

"Wow, didn't expect that!" A small chuckle escaped him, but then he clapped his hands together as he slightly bowed. "Nice that you offer, but I kinda need to get a move on. Already spent too much time here. Maybe another time."

Lili stopped herself from letting out a sigh, ignoring how Bell's head fell a bit.

As polite as the man was, she preferred the little group they had. A new addition would just screw up any synergy they had. Not to mention she had no idea about him at all. What were his abilities, whose family did he belong to, and many more questions.

Grim chuckled and began to walk away as he happily waved at them.

"Anyway, you're an inspiration to all of us! Have fun in the dungeon!"

With that, he left them behind, leaving the quartet staying in front of the dungeon entrance, no one saying a single word. After a while, it was Lisa who broke the silence first, putting on a smile as she addressed the others.

"Well, he was nice. Kinda weird, but nice," she said with her hands on her hips and Welf let out a snort as he crossed his arms.

"Guess you can't judge a person by their clothes."

"You tell me," Lili replied in amusement, her father appearing in the front of her mind. The blacksmith and the merchant both nodded with grins, knowing what she meant. Meanwhile, Bell chuckled a bit as he stared at the ground they were walking on.

"He didn't call me Little Rabbit," he muttered, content with himself. Welf in turn threw his arm around him, humming in agreement.

"Minotaur Slayer sounds cooler, yeah. Wonder why the gods didn't go with that?"

"Not like Minotaurs are rare prey. I mean, they are still 'only' level two monsters," Lili replied with a shrug, just as they walked down the path into the first floor.

Given that they were level two and had been in the Upper Floors gods knew how many times, they pretty much mowed their way down to the 12th floor without any accident. On the one hand, they made good time on making their way down, given how weak the monsters were compared to them. On the other hand, they could not properly test Bell's abilities to the fullest. Sure, he could show off with his speed that was close to Lili's and his other stuff, but it wasn't a real stress test.

Long story short, it was boring. The Pallum could see that the others thought so as well, and she couldn't blame them. While a part of her knew that this was just begging the dungeon to take it as a challenge, she couldn't help but wish for some excitement.

Just as she thought that, her eyes caught a familiar form inside the fog. Her face brightened up as she recognized who it was and waved her right arm in excitement as she picked up the pace.

"Hey, Aiz!"

The Sword Princess whipped her head around, air gracefully flying with the motion, and her eyes widened slightly, before smiling softly. At the same time, Lili tried her best to ignore the whispering behind her as she raised her right hand and high fived her family member.

"Dude, you still nervous?!" Welf hissed and the Pallum heard Bell whimpering in the background.

"I can't help it!"

"Game faces, boys!" As they came close enough, Lisa threw her arms up in an exaggerated manner. "Heeeey, Sword Princess!"

The action confused her slightly, as she tilted her head while blinking.

"Hello?"

A silent squeal sounded through the air, followed by a soft thud and a grunt of pain. Eye twitching a bit, Lili took a step to the right to cover Bell from Aiz' perplexed gaze.

"Testing out your new level?" She asked in a friendly tone and the swordswoman nodded.

"Yes. I was just planning to go deeper to find proper targets," she explained, tapping Desperate on her left hip. Not that it was a surprise, knowing her personality, so Lili just politely nodded. However, her eyes wandered to her right hand and spotted that Aiz was holding something. Because of that, she pointed with her right finger at the scroll as she tilted her head.

"Hey, what's that?"

At Lili's curios question, her body stiffened up for a moment. Biting her lip, she narrowed her eyes in thought as she looked away. But after a moment of consideration, she sighed and looked at the item in her hand.

"It is a quest," she explained, before pocketing it.

"A quest?" Lili asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

Aiz wasn't the type to take quests, the Pallum lived long enough under one roof with her to know that. Usually, she would rush down into the dungeon, murder everything as the prodigy she was, and come back up with her bag full.  
Anyway, she nodded before elaborating further upon it.

"Yes, I am supposed to meet up with a group in Rivira. From there, we are to investigate irregular monster activities in the 24th floor."

She could hear a whistle behind her and Lili couldn't help but let out an impressed grunt. She heard about the rumors, about how in certain levels, the monsters were rampaging and overflowing the areas. But the Pallum came to believe, like many others, that the Guild, including the Ganesha family, at the problem under control.

While Aiz was a strong fighter, she was surprised that the guild was desperate enough to get her help personally. Though there was something that was off about this. Why only her? It would mean that secrecy was important, but that only raised more questions. Maybe because of her curiosity about those questions, Lili grinned as she put her right hand on her hip.

"Sounds like you could use all the help you can get," she stated confidently. She could hear the heads of her allies whip towards her, eyes probably just as wide as Aiz' were at the moment. The Sword Princess in question frowned after overcoming the initial shock, pressing her lips together in discomfort.

"It might be dangerous."

Lili couldn't help but smile wider. Daw, Aiz really cared. It was a real shame that most people thought she was an ice princess instead of the awkward fluffball of murder that she was.

She really had to stop mimicking her father, she thought as she took a deep breath with closed eyes before putting her smile back on.

"We're adventurers, it's always dangerous." Her expression became softer as she put her arms behind her head. "Besides, we've got you. I don't have to fear anything."

This time, Aiz' poker face broke and a faint blush appeared as she averted her gaze. Yet again, suppressed squeals sounded behind her, as if people were in physical pain, but this time no soft thud that indicated an elbow meeting flush sounded. Lili's smile slightly wavered as she raised an eyebrow. Right, people were not used to Aiz being so expressive, so they couldn't handle the sugar levels.

"I-if you say so..." She muttered shyly, before slapping her cheeks two times, before leaning to the left to address the others. "Do you agree with her?"

Quickly covering their faces as they coughed and tried to not appear like they were blushing like fair maidens, they took a while to give their replies. But in the end, they managed to gather their wits again. Well, two of them did.

"Well, we wanted to stress test our new team formation anyway. Why not go all in?" Lisa stated, rolling her arm with a grin. Welf in turn tapped his shoulder with his long sword.

"No complains here."

Bell meanwhile was...acceptable.

"O-Only if-if we aren't a-an inco-convenience!"

Good enough, Lili thought. Aiz didn't seem to care for his stuttering, probably being used to it already by now and not seeing the need to pry further, as the dense girl she was. Speaking of her, she stared at the team in surprise, before nodding with a smile. However, before they made their way together down the dungeon, Lisa let out an 'ah' and slapped her forehead with a groan.

"I told Lady Hestia we would only go down to the start of the middle floors to settle ourselves in with our level..." the merchant muttered, causing Bell to pale with a gulp.

"Well shit," the blacksmith commented with a wince as he stared down the ground. Lili surmised that he probably did the same thing. To her and everyone else's relief, Aiz shook her head as she raised her right hand.

"Don't worry, I've sent a message to Lady Loki," she explained and while they sighed, relaxing now that the potential godly wrath was averted, Welf bit his lip as he stared at Lisa. More specifically at her bag.

"Shouldn't we stock up?"

"As Lili said, we have Aiz," Lisa said, waving him off before jabbing her thumb at her back. "Besides, we kinda are a bit overloaded with potions. Believe me, I can feel it in there."

While the others did have their own potions on various places, like pockets or belts, Lisa did carry most of them on herself, as the designated main supporter. Lili could do the job just as well, but she liked being a front liner too much to revert back to her old job.

Anyway, Welf in turn, shrugged at the merchant's words.

"Well, if you say so." Welf glanced at his backpack with a frown. "Two are good enough, I guess."

With that said, the group now consisting of five people, casually made their way down to the Middle Floors. As they walked however, with Aiz taking point, she glanced back at them with a neutral expression.

"Before I forget, congratulations on your new titles," she said, before her eyes rested on Bell. The captain began to sweat with a red face when she didn't stop staring at her for several seconds. Following that, she let out a small, approving huff as she nodded, eyes sparkling as if she was proud of her assessment.

Lili couldn't help it, knowing full well what she thought, considering Bell's title. The others did as well, and no matter how much Bell yelled at them, their laughter didn't stop even when they had to fight off the monsters that were attracted by their noise.

* * *

 **Awakening 12.2**

At Aiz' confused glance, Lili waved her off, chuckling awkwardly. For a moment, the former looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself before focusing back on her front. Once she didn't look at her, the Pallum let out a small sigh.

This trip was more tiring than expected and it was not because of the floor they were in. The area that was called "Grand Tree" by many adventurers. It got its name due to its general structure, its appearance similar to the inside of a tree, including complex cave systems that stretched out throughout from the 19th floor to the 24th floor.

In contrast to the previous floors, there was actually plant life. Because of that, the area was a lot more colorful and fresh, so to say, than the dry stone hallways they had to walk through. The jungle was a nice change of scenery.

She could have enjoyed the new scenery a lot more, lethality aside from fauna and flora, were it not for the current atmosphere. The reason why Aiz looked into their direction in the first place.

"Captain, you really can't take it personally," Lisa whispered into Bell's left ear, but instead of cheering him up, she only managed to make him lower his head even further as he let another suffering sigh out. Glancing at Welf to her right, Lili nodded at him, who mimicked her motion. Yup, he could also see the dark clouds from the back. Yikies.

"I'm not a girl, so why did she include me…?" He muttered, arms hanging around limply as he trailed behind Aiz, with Lisa next to him letting out a sigh of exasperation.

To understand his current state, one had to go further back, to when the group arrived in Rivira. The safe zone of the dungeon on the 18th floor was as beautiful as it was rumored. All the crystals at the ceiling mimicked the sun perfectly, shining light down on the gigantic tree that was in the middle of the floor. upposedly, they would darken once night came, however the hell it knew how to do that. Surrounding that tree was a landscape that wouldn't be misplaced on the outside world, with all the trees, rivers and flowed beds. Anyway, more directly around the tree were wooden walls, circling the city inside the dungeon, Rivira. Considering how often it got destroyed, rebuilt over three hundred times, Lili was impressed that the city was a city and not a collection of shacks next to each other. Though while they used a cave system for more space, most of the business was around the tree directly.

Speaking of business, the prices to do anything in the city were ridiculous. For example, a whetstone Welf planned to buy for emergency forging cost like ten or fifteen times the amount of a whetstone on the surface. The reason for the high prices were simply due to monopoly. Inside the dungeon, it was the only safe place to rest and restock. Because of that, they could sell as expensive as they wanted to. If she wasn't a victim of this, Lili would be impressed.

Naturally, Lisa forbid them to buy anything on basic principle, giving all of them a glare, daring them to say otherwise. None of the others even attempted to object, taking her word for it as an expert, so she quickly reverted to her cheerful self.

Still, as beautiful as the area was, they were on a time table, so there was no time for sightseeing. It bummed the quartet of "newbies" a bit, but it wasn't like it was going to be the last time. After all, there was still the way back, thus plenty of time to look around later. Because of that, they swiftly made their way, without any detours, to the staircase that would lead them down to the "Golden Cellar Bar". It was located further away from the city, its entrance build into a wall that would lead them down.

In that bar, one of the shadier ones Lili had visited, they met the group they would join for the mission once Aiz spoke the secret order to get their attention.

The Hermes family. An exploration type family who basically did anything as long as it gave them profit. It was one of the few families to be allowed outside of Orario, due to the trust the guild had in them. Rumors said it was because they were Uranus personal lap dog, others say it was because of them taking so many missions that needed discretion. Whatever the case was, they didn't need to file as much paperwork every time they wanted to leave Orario than Lili had to for example.

Suffice to say, they were not overly excited at the fact that their reinforcements amounted to five people, four of which were 'merely' level two. Luckily for them, none of the Hermes family took it personal and decided to roll with what they have gotten. Especially Asfi Al Andromeda, also known as "Perseus", one of only five people in Orario that had the ability "Mystery", which allowed the user to create miraculous items, including boots of flight or a helmet of invisibility. The blue haired woman swiftly explained the details of her mission, with her glasses making her look like a lecturer only rich people or nobles could afford.

Once introductions were over, some muttering over the rookie team aside, they explained their situation. First of all, they were essentially forced to do this mission because they lied about their levels. Lili had to process that one for a bit. If Welf had used his skill, he would have probably seen the true levels of the adventurers. He didn't do it of course, as it would have been a breach of privacy. Anyway, second of all, because of that, they had to go down to the 24th floor, investigate the pantry, a crystal that had nutrients for monsters to feed on and become stronger, and not die in the process.

Rather simple mission, the Pallum had to admit. Besides the fact that monsters were acting weird, but she kinda expected that already. Anywho, with that done, the group swiftly left, though with some awkwardness between them as well. They were a rather colorful group, and Lili had to admit it was a bit overwhelming.

A muscular dwarfen woman with a shield, two Pallum, one a jackass the other one more polite, an animal person that Aiz apparently met before who tended to run her mouth off, a fanboy of Asfi, the list went on.

Not like they were on the level of weirdness that the Loki family was, but adding the fact that they were strangers...exhausted her a little. Maybe she shouldn't have kept her distance like that and get to know them better, but she didn't see the point if it was only for the mission. Though she was worried. If she reacted like that, what about the Sword Princess, given her personality? But she seemed fine enough at the moment, not seeing any signs of nervousness.

Anyway, back to the reason why Bell was so depressed was because the dwarf lady from the Hermes family included him in her rant about the unfairness of life and how cute they actually were. Honestly, Lili was flattered to be considered in the same line up as Lisa and Aiz. Though Bell didn't feel the same, obviously. Considering that Welf wasn't mentioned at all, it made him the only boy out of the girls, which naturally caused his pride to take a major hit.

Luckily for them, they managed to get rid of the awkward air rather quick once they engaged in the most efficient team building exercise in existence: Mass killing of monsters.

Well, they didn't engaged yet, because the Hermes family stepped forward and told them to stay back for now. Lili had the feeling that their leader just wanted to show off, but she kept it to herself as they observed the proceedings.

Witnessing their skill, the Pallum could see how the reports regarding their level were lies.

Once they took their battle formation, barely leaving any flaws, and Asfi giving commands swiftly, she could see that their coordination was top notch.

Some threw stones or just waved their arms while yelling to distract the flying insects or bears, while shield bearers protected the attackers and the baits. The former jumped in the moment they see an opening, caving their way through the monsters. And, for a grand finale, a wild fire caused by Asfi's many potions, shattering over their heads, and the fire magic of the team's mage.

Everything was done for the sake of the group, to increase survivability and killing power. This was teamwork on the level of people that would go down to the 30th floor easily, maybe even reach the 40th floor if they were lucky and prepared enough. It was essentially flawless. Judging from the sparkling eyes from her teammates, they felt the same awe.

However, this performance was going to be overshadowed in the next engagement. After continuing onwards, taking breaks in between after breaking the walls to prevent monsters from spawning, they reached the 24th floor. When they reached the next group of monsters, just before anyone could react, Aiz unsheathed Desperate, her face completely calm.

"I'll handle it."

With those determined words, she jumped down, ignoring the objections and worries of the Hermes family. Lili and her team showed no such concern, instead leaning forward, expression filled with anticipation.

How much stronger did she become since their last expedition? The answer was...immensely. While the monsters didn't compare to the deep levels they have reached, they were still targets to practice on. And that's what happened.

Not a fight. Training It was a mere test for Aiz, to get familiar with her new status. The monsters were the furthest from her mind as a threat. Nevertheless, she paid attention to them as if this was a serious battle, keeping her senses sharp as she appeared to attack her enemies even when they approached from blind spots. She took an attack head on to test her durability, swung her sword to test her speed and strength and didn't even break a sweat as she showed off her capabilities as the Loki's family's ace.

Good thing Lili was used to it, else she would have shared the feeling of uselessness the Hermes family felt. Though the way Bell stared at Aiz worried her. While he did blush, he also bit his lip as his right hand was clenched around the Hestia knife. His eyes didn't only show admiration, like with her other teammates, but also a burning fire. She wasn't quite sure what kind, but she guessed along the lines of frustration and determination.

Anyway, with that spectacle done, the group moved down to catch up with her, before the supporters, Lisa included, began to take apart the corpses for their valuables. While Lili could have helped out, she instead moved up to her fellow family member and crossed her arms just as Aiz sheathed her weapon. When the latter turned to her with a tilted head, Lili raised an eyebrow.

"Aiz, why aren't you using Ariel?"

In response, she let out a small sigh and stared at the palm of her hand, before clenching it into a fist with determination.

"Personal training. I realized I relied too much on it to do my battles for me."

The words surprised Lili, as her eyes widened at the Sword Princess.

She was basically weakening herself, just for training. While they weren't on a floor where she was normally in danger, the last days made Lili wary. Because of that, she patted her on the shoulder and gave her a small smile.

"Just don't overdo it, okay?"

Smiling back, Aiz nodded, before walking off to secure the perimeter for the Hermes family. Once she was gone, Lili couldn't help but frown in thought, as she stared at the ground.

Was she relying too much on Static? Well, she wasn't ignoring her other skills, but it was a core ability of her fighting style. Still, her father did hammer in the importance of natural fighting skill and they worked on fixing it. This wasn't a floor for experimenting and training anyway for her,

since she was four levels below the Sword Princess.

Aiz showed of their difference splendidly, after all. The thought made her bite her lip in frustration.

Gods, now she was getting excited. She wanted to fight too! They had left most monsters to the Hermes family and Aiz by now! Despite the thoughts however, she took a deep breath and buried the desire to fight. After all, the last time she felt such excitement, she could have gotten herself killed if it weren't for Finn's timely arrival. Because of that, she decided to distract herself. With what, she wasn't sure yet, so she let her eyes wander around, until she found a target. Her search didn't last long, when she found a target and a thought emerged in her head.

Lili couldn't help but stare at Bell's back with a frown. How exactly did Argonaut work? They didn't test it out yet, but when Bell tried to figure out how it worked, his hand began to glow, as if small fireflies appeared in it. He didn't dare to do anything with it though, since they did that in the middle of Hestia's and Bell's home, the church. But they could conclude from that and its description "executes automatically with an active action", that it was apparently a sign of charging something up. But that was all they knew, without further testing. They did plan to figure more out, but then they teamed up with Aiz and didn't have an opportunity to use it yet. A lot of questions flew around her head.

How long could he charge it? How powerful could it be? Was it limited to magic or to physical actions? Maybe both? Did he have to stand still? Her curiosity caused her to lean forward, arms crossed behind her back as she looked at Bell to her left.

"Can you move while charging up?" She asked in a curious tone. After blinking for a moment, he scratched his left cheek awkwardly.

"No, it vanishes when I don't focus enough," he replied and the Pallum couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Did he actually test that at their home as well? A glance at Lisa, who let out a tired sigh, pointed at yes. Still, with that answer, she realized that Argonaut sounded rather familiar.

"Huh. Wonder if knowing Concurrent Casting could help," Lili muttered, having heard how difficult it was to cast while moving. However, the Little Rabbit didn't have the same knowledge, as he showed with his tilted head.

"What's that?"

"It is when you cast a spell while moving. Riveria can do it," Aiz chimed in, causing Bell to yelp when the Sword Princess spoke up from behind. While she tilted her head in confusion, Lisa tapped her chin in thought.

"Hm, because Firebolt's chant is so short, you never needed to know, huh?" She asked with a smirk, putting her elbow on Bell's left shoulder. Before he could respond however, Aiz held her chin with a hum.

"It isn't a guarantee, but maybe learning the basics could help." She removed her hand and blinked at him politely. "I can ask if you want to."

"I-I don't want to be a burden..." He muttered, averting his eyes as he blushed a bit. Lili in turn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Relax, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

However, Aiz' eyes narrowed slightly as Bell relaxed a bit more, shoulders rising again.

"But be careful," she said in a serious tone, causing him to gulp. "She can be a harsh teacher."

"Aiz, did you ever see our training sessions with my dad?" Lili asked in an incredulous tone.

"No," she instantly replied and the speed her reply came caused the Pallum to blink for a moment.

"Oh." Then she shrugged. "Well, I'm sure Riveria can't be worse than that."

"I doubt that."

The honest tone almost caused her to snicker, but she suppressed the urge. As cute as her pout was, it wouldn't do to make Bell faint.

All of a sudden however, they stopped walking. Lili soon heard why, when the animal person, Lulune she believed, let out a shocked shout.

"There is a wall! Why?!"

Snapping her head at the wall in question, she slowly tilted her head to the left side, completely in sync with Aiz and her team as they mimicked her.

There was, indeed, a wall. She let out an impressed "huh", her eyebrow raised. Didn't they have a map? Someone else in the Hermes family thought the same, as the muscular man snapped his head at the navigator.

"You sure your map is correct, Lulune?"

"Hey, don't doubt me!" She in turn yelled back, pointing at her piece of paper dramatically. As the discussions began, Bell turned his head to the right, glancing at the wall in question a few times.

"Welf, could you…?" He asked quietly and the blacksmith nodded. Then, his eyes glowed red as he narrowed them.

"It's definitely a monster. But..." He trailed off, wetting his lips. "Doesn't seem to have any purpose but blocking the path. Rather sturdy, but nothing that magic can't burn through."

Honestly, Lili wasn't even surprised at this point. A wall monster. Sure, why not, she thought as she rolled her eyes. Lisa on the other hand felt no such exasperation, as she nodded.

"Gotcha."

With that said, she walked forward, causing the others to share a confused look, before following her. The talking died down when they saw the merchant dug her hand into her bag once she reached the wall and fished out a piece of paper with the symbols 'C' and '4' written on it.

"What's that?" Lili asked, pointing her finger at it. Tilting her head, as she slapped it on the rock and then began to connect a piece of what appeared to be rope, Lisa grinned a bit.

"Lady Lightbringer calls it the 'C4 Tag'." She paused at the black stares she received and let out a sigh. "It goes boom." Another pause. "I suggest you go...ten or more meters away, over there behind those rocks."

"I would appreciate if you wouldn't just do your thing without consulting me first," Asfi commented with crossed arms, a disapproving frown directed at the Boundary girl. The latter waved her off dismissively, grin still in place.

"Hey, it saves up energy, so don't complain, miss."

Naturally, saying something like that to their captain caused the family to bristle up, some looking more pissed than others. In order to distract them, Lili cleared her throat loudly and put on a fake smile, trying to ignore the glares they were receiving.

"Why didn't you ever use it before?" She asked politely and Lisa shrugged.

"Demolition only, takes too long to set up in a battle," she explained before rolling her rope out, walking backwards as she did. When she stepped to Bell's left and ducked next to him, she increased her volume as she cracked her neck. "Alright, cover your ears!"

Everyone did so, even if some grumbled out some complains, before Lisa lightened up a match and set the rope on fire. The fire carefully, but swiftly burned down the rope In seconds, it touched the paper.

And the wall crumbled under the force of fire and pressure the explosion caused. While there were no pieces of the dungeon flying at their face, it still created a small dust cloud. Honestly, Lili expected more destruction, considering how loud it was. Maybe she should be concerned with how Lisa had so many explosives, she mused as she removed her hands and followed the rest of the group towards the hole that was made.

"Ah, Boundary explosions at its finest," Lisa commented with pride, hands on her hips as they peeked into the opening. This time however, her words weren't left alone with just quiet mutterings. A blonde Pallum stepped forward, only barely bigger than Lili, with a snarl on his face.

"Getting cocky for rookies, aren't you?"

The tone made her scoff, causing him to turn to her with a glare. However, she wasn't bothered by it at all as she sneered at him.

"Sorry, can't help you with your image issues. Maybe you should consult a professional."

Silence fell between them, as the man gaped at her in shock. In the background, she could hear someone whisper "damn", followed by a soft slap. This caused the Hermes member to bristle up, raising himself as he was about to step closer. But just as Lili was about to grab her weapon, a foot stomped down on the ground between them.

"Enough!" Asfi ordered in a tone that promised pain. Her gaze caused the Pallums to shrink down a bit with embarrassment. Once they got the message, she addressed the rest of the group. "Let's not waste any more time than we already did."

With that said, they moved through the hole, awkward air even thicker than they were before all the fighting. Ignoring the glare her fellow Pallum gave her, Lili decided to trail after the group, remaining in the back. She satisfied her fighting spirit, or blood lust, enough with the battle before, so she was happy to stand back in the back lines anyway. Though that left her with her thoughts instead.

She let out a sigh, shoulders slumped. Gods, she wasn't a child, so why did she lose her temper so quickly? A somber expression fell over her face. Maybe she wasn't over the Soma family as much as she thought she was, if that was enough to set her off. Who knew what she would have said if she were still stuck with them. Probably something far worse. Then again, the chances of coming down here were non existent anyway, with the way she was before. Now that she thought about it, there was no way she would have mouthed off another adventurer on a higher level like that if she were as weak as she was before Obsidian trained her.

The thought of her father caused her to lower her head even more.

Heavens, she wished Obsidian decided to go down here with them, as much as he teased them about their new names. Who knew how long the expedition preparations took. What if he lost his spirit and backed off in the last minute? If he did that, there was no way she could show him the results of her training. Nor could she witness his strength when he didn't hold back in order to not kill them by accident.

Hell, what would he say to her behavior?

Actually, he would probably be cool with it. Or at least, not be hypocritical about it, with the lack of fucks he gave when talking to the Loki family or anyone else, really.

"You should apologize to him."

The voice made her almost scream, but instead she only jumped when she saw Aiz' face close up when the latter spoke up. After taking a few breaths to calm her racing heart, she raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"The other Pallum Bock," Aiz helpfully explained in a quiet tone, causing Lili to frown. The Sword Princess was a nice person, but she wasn't one to make others apologize. Well, unless it was Bete, but she liked to believe she didn't sink so low yet. Leaning sideways a bit, she saw the Hermes family cut up the remnants of those weird plant monsters from the festival.

Because of course the fuckers were here too.

Seeing the Pallum smiled more than before, despite the monster slime on his body, Lili couldn't help but scoff as she put the pieces together.

"Did he tell you a sob story after doing some stupid stuff to prove himself?"

"You didn't hear anything? Or saw what he did?" Aiz asked confused and she shook her head in response.

"Didn't pay attention, was busy covering the back." Lili let out a sigh and looked her friend straight in the eyes. "Look, I know that I wasn't nice back then, but I don't like him. He's a prick." A small, apologetic smile appeared on her face when Aiz looked at her with concern. "Don't worry, I won't let it get into the way of my job."

"Are you sure?" She asked in a soft voice and the Dynamo waved her hand, letting out a small laugh.  
"I worked with the Soma family rather efficiently, I can do that with a random guy." Her grin widened. "Besides, Bete, remember?"

This time, Aiz couldn't help but smile as well, giggling at her words.

Sadly, those good times didn't last long.

"Enemy inbound!" A loud voice shouted, causing any further potential conversation to die out immediately. Lili and Aiz snapped their heads to the front, before following the finger pointing upwards. The sight made her click her tongue.

More plant monsters, great. Dropping from the ceiling the moment the warning was issued. However, as she observed the monsters movements and unfurled her dagger, something caught her eye.

They moved too weird.

That was the only thing she could think of, just when they were about to crash into her. She was already in motion, but it would have been close. Luckily for her, she was at the safest place in the dungeon she could have been.

Next to Aiz Wallenstein.

Without hesitating, the Sword Princess grabbed her with her free right hand and jumped with greater force than Lili could ever create. The plants crashed into the ground, creating a dust cloud with the impact. Once they reached solid ground again, Aiz released her grip on Lili's arm. The Pallum rolled her left shoulder, letting a breath of relief as she stared at the plants warily.

"T-thanks," she muttered, giving her friend a glance, before looking back at the monsters. Then she noticed another weird thing.

They didn't move an inch anymore, as they formed a...wall…

The realization hit her and she sucked in air through her teeth before letting out a frustrated breath. Of course they blocked the two off from the Hermes family.

"Ugh, someone got the name of that carriage?"

"Is everyone okay?!"

"Chill, captain. Bruises at most. And Welf, stop whining."

"Fuck off."

Correction. Five.

Lili felt a weight leave her heart when she saw her teammates on the ground, dirtied and slightly in pain, but very much alive. Raising themselves with groans and dusting themselves off, their expressions brightened up when they saw her and Aiz, with Bell's face gaining a red color on top of that. After checking each other if they were fine, they turned around to the blasted wall.

They were separated from the Hermes family. Being separated in the dungeon was usually a sign that it was turning up its assholish tendencies. Lisa stepped forward, tapping her knuckle against the snake flowers and clicked her tongue in irritation.

"Guess we gotta bla-"

Before she could finish however, Aiz whipped her head around, eyes narrowed as her body tensed up. That action caused the others to turn their bodies around as well, brandishing their weapons nervously.

Then, they heard the steps. Slowly, a figure emerged from the shadows of the dungeon, and a barely clad woman with short brown hair approached them, no weapon in hand. However, Lili's instincts screamed at her that she could not let her guard down for even a second. When the woman raised her head and looked down on them, she knew her gut feeling wasn't lying to her. Only someone arrogant or strong could look at them as if she looked at trash. And the dungeon had already proven that it wanted to kill them.

"We meet again, Aria," the woman droned out, her cold voice piercing the air.

Aiz' breath hitched for a moment, before she unsheathed Desperate after exhaling air. Following that, only determination filled her eyes, as she faced their opposition.

Despite the seriousness of the situation however, Lili could not help but roll her eyes with a deep sigh.

"Seriously, fuck the dungeon," she muttered, one hundred percent done with the day.

* * *

 **Awakening 12.3**

The tension in the air was stronger than Lili ever felt before. It wasn't just the sheer strength the woman radiated. If it were simply that, she would have gotten used to it with all the powerful adventurers around her. It was the fact that this...thing wanted to kill them. It added a whole different tone to the pressure she was exerting. It would explain why the Pallum felt more afraid than ever in her life before. She was sure, if she would look around now, that her teammates would sweat just as much as their eyes wouldn't leave the enemy either.

However, Aiz did not suffer from the same fear.

Step by step, she moved forward, already having unsheathed Desperate, no fear in her face. With her blade in her right hand, she opened her mouth, but then closed it for some reason and glanced at her companions. For some reason, she appeared conflicted as she bit her lip. Before Lili could question what was wrong, Aiz glanced back at the enemy.

"You have to leave," she whispered to them, eyes not leaving her opponent. At their wide eyes, she hardened her grip on her sword before elaborating further. "Once the battle starts, you need to get away as far as possible and find an alternative route to meet up with Asfi and the others."

"We can't just leave you alone with her!" Lili objected immediately, partially out of worry and partially out of pride. However, when Aiz looked back at her, she was taken aback by the emotion she saw.

Fear. As if she remembered something terrible and didn't want it to happen again.

It was only for a moment though, before the Sword Princess turned away again.

"She's too strong for you," she muttered as she positioned her sword in front of herself. "I will be fine."

While the Pallum wanted to believe those words, she couldn't help but bristle up, fully intent to stand by her side and fight. However, before she could take a step forward, an arm appeared from the left and stopped her from moving forward. Following the limp to its owner, Lili's eyes widened when she saw that it was Bell's. Surprisingly, it was him who steeled his resolve first and decided to listen. Even Welf and Lisa seemed conflicted on whether or not to help. Not him though. With a determined fire in his eyes, he nodded at Aiz and turned to the rest of the team.

"Let's trust her," he spoke in a soft tone, but with a hint of authority. Lisa bit her lip, but sighed, before putting on a smile and nodded. Welf followed suit, exhaling slowly as he tried to relax. Lili on the other hand, bit back an immediate objection. Then, she forced herself to take a deep breath, in order to gather her thoughts. Doing that, she realized that both Aiz and Bell were right. Aiz was stronger than her. More experienced. Period. If she couldn't trust Aiz' judgement, then whose could she? Hers? Didn't she think earlier about the fact that she could make mistakes by being overeager? Not to mention, she was family. If anyone cared for her allies and victory, it was the Sword Princess. Shouldn't she believe in her? In that determination and strength?

With that in mind, she took a step back, weapon still ready in her hand, before glaring at her friend's.

"Don't do anything stupid, Aiz. Heaven knows what Riveria will do to me," she muttered with a wry grin and she could see her smiling, as Aiz giggled quietly at them.

"I should say to same to you." She shook her head and wiped any emotions off her face. "Wait until you get my signal."

At her words, the group immediately tensed up again, this time leaning forward. Seeing that, she nodded and turned back to the front, taking more steps forward to create more distance between herself and the team. Then however, the shield bearer sweated nervously, an awkward chuckle escaping her.

"What _is_ the signal?" She asked quietly into the round and Lili couldn't help but let out a scoff.

"I think we'll know." Her expression turned serious again and she gave the others a look. "Don't miss it."

Before anyone else could say anything else, the stranger began to step forward, taking strong strides as she leaned forward.

"Are you done whispering, Aria?" She asked in an impatient tone.

"I am not Aria. She is my mother," the Sword Princess in turn replied, probably narrowing her eyes at the name she was called. However, the enemy clicked her tongue in annoyance and shook her head, her steps becoming faster.

"Nonsense. Someone like her can't have a child." All of a sudden, she rammed her right arm into the ground, annoyance filling her expression. "And even then, it doesn't matter. I was ordered to get Aria, over and over again. I found you, and now you're coming with me."

With those words said, whatever they meant, the stranger pulled her arm out, with it the most disgusting weapon she had ever seen in her life. She could hear Welf hold back a barf reflex and she couldn't blame him. The only thing that made it resemble a sword was the edge of a blade. The rest looked like a bunch of veins or roots combining into the form of giant, single edged sword almost Aiz' side. In between the gaps were black, twitching eyes as well and if that wasn't bad enough, it was dripping some weird fluid, before the stranger swung the natural made weapon a few times to get rid of it. Then, she cracked her neck and sent her opponent a glare of disdain.

"Here I come," she declared and instantly moved. With the blade in her right arm, she reached back. Aiz immediately jumped and Lili's eyes widened. Then, she quickly ducked at the same time as her teammates, avoiding the air blast that came after them. Still, the force of the swing was strong enough to make them skid back over the ground, almost knocking them over despite their lowered position.

That was when their blades clashed.

While the Sword Princess soared over the stranger's head, they did not stop for a single second to swing their blades. Despite their differences in style, Aiz almost graceful and smooth with a slim weapon, the other wild and powerful with a gigantic weapon, they were evenly matched in speed, as each attack was parried and blocked, before immediately following up with a counter attack. The moment Aiz landed, their blade flurry stopping for just an instance, she spun around, at the same time as her opponent did, and their weapons clashed again, creating a shock wave that forced the team back against the monster wall.

The lock didn't remain for long, as the stranger shot her right arm out, intend on grabbing Aiz' face. While her eyes widened for a split second, the latter quickly shot Desperate up, knocking the arm away, before stabbing at the head with her sword. However, the enemy dodged to the right side and without missing a beat, threw a right roundhouse kick at her abdomen. With her sword still in stab motion, Aiz removed her left hand from her weapon and guarded her side. At the same time, she pushed down, using the counter force to jump into the air. As she was parallel in the air, the Sword Princess rapidly swung her arm at the enemy, who could do nothing but block at the moment. When the speed picked up, Lili could hear the stranger grunt in surprise, before getting overwhelmed and knocked back into the wall of the dungeon. Aiz then dropped from the air down on the ground, flicked her sword to the side, before holding it in front of herself with both hands.

With the pause in the battle, the Pallum and her teammates let out an exhausted breath as sweat ran down their skin. Lili couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. Now she felt stupid for thinking she could contribute in _this_. Risking a glance, she saw Welf and Lili stare at the battlefield with wide eyes, expression filled with awe. However, Bell was the one that surprised her. His lips were pressed together and his hands were curled up into fists. While he was amazed as well, his eyes were filled with frustration. She couldn't exactly blame him.

This fight made her feel like a supporter of the Soma family all over again. Completely hopeless, with no chance of ever reaching the level of those she was looking up. In this case, her family member and the stranger she was fighting.

Speaking of the latter, she raised herself from the wall, giving Aiz a calculating glare.

"You...leveled up," she stated with a snarl and her opponent nodded, not showing a single opening.

"All for the sake of beating you."

At her words, the stranger let out a frustrated breath as she stepped towards the Sword Princess.

"What a nuisance..." She muttered and grabbed her weapon with both hands. "Well, as long as you're still alive, I can hurt you as much as I want to."

The moment she finished the sentence, the ground gave in under her feet and the next moment, she blurred into the air, bending back to create even more force on top with her jump. Even with her limited experience, Lili could tell that this attack, aimed to crush a person into the ground, was virtually impossible to block or to avoid, with the sheer power and speed it possessed. Honestly, the Pallum wasn't sure how anyone was supposed to survive such an attack.

However, Aiz Wallenstein proved herself worthy of the title 'Sword Princess' once again. It was hard to spot, but Lili could see the moment that she would remember for the rest of her life. Showing no fear, she silently extended her sword forward, calmly putting it next to the enemy's weapon. The tip created sparks from the contact, the air filled with scraping as the rest of the blade followed. As she pushed Desperate towards the eye of her opponent, she continuously kept pushing the sword to the side, in order to make the attack against her miss.

That was all the Pallum could see, before yet another shock blast created by their weapons came at them. She could hear the others exclaim in shock, as she covered her own face, but she remained silent, intent to get her eyes right back on the battle once the dust settled. When she managed to open her eyes again, the sight she saw made her breath stop for a moment as she gaped. In disbelief, the team stood up, barely able to believe what they witnessed.

Both Aiz and the stranger didn't move, as if they were only statues, creating a picture that could easily belong in ancient myths. Desperate drew blood, its edge right next to the opponent's head. At the same time, the natural made weapon struck the ground, creating fissures in the stone as it touched Aiz' right foot. While she couldn't see Aiz' expression, she could see the one from the stranger, which was filled with shock.

Shock described Lili's current state rather well, especially when it dawned on her. While she wasn't as experienced, even she could tell how risky the Sword Princess' move was.

A single mistake. A millimeter off or a millisecond too late, and she would have been dead. At the very least, she could have easily lost an arm with the stunt she had pulled. And she did that without even using her magic.

"Why aren't you using Ariel?" The stranger voiced out the question that was on everyone's minds, as she narrowed her eyes. In response, the ace of the Loki family remained calm.

"I don't need to use it," she said, as if it were fact. Her grip on Desperate's handle intensified. "A weakling like you doesn't deserve it."

Lili couldn't help but blink at those words. Aiz never trash talked anyone. This was more Bete's thing and he was the biggest asshole she knew, Soma family excluded.

That was all she could think of, when the two fighters blurred into motion. The monster blade shot upwards as its wielder swayed back and Desperate aimed for the enemy's neck as its master ducked to the left. Using the momentum, Aiz spun around as she created some distance, her weapon spinning in her hand, before she readied it again, this time holding it next to her head, the point directed at the stranger. That was when the Dynamo saw a new emotion on the enemy's face.

It was distorted in fury.

Lili's eyes widened in realization. Why Aiz was taunting her opponent.

That was the signal. She whipped her head left and right, to look at Welf and Lisa, and Bell respectively. Seeing her movements, they only needed a moment, before it dawned on them as well and nodded slowly when she made a head motion to the right.

"Don't underes-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the quartet moved in sync. Stomping off the ground, they shot off, following the right side of the wall as they sprinted with all their might. Due to their initial position, it were Welf and Lisa that took point, with Bell and Lili right behind. Because of that, it were the latter two that were the target. As a testament of her strength, the enemy snapped her head at them the moment they moved and instantly jumped towards them, her right arm reeled back as she was ready to smash them.

However, that was a mistake, as she stopped paying attention to Aiz.

"TEMPEST!"

Not daring to look back, Lili kept on running, but she could still imagine what happened from her other senses.

The air screamed as something fast moved through it. The wind picked up right behind her, causing her hair to flutter uncontrollably. A clash of metal and wind hitting heavy resistance. A scream of agony followed by a crash into stone.

A part of her wished she could have seen what happened, but instead she picked up even more speed with Bell, soon overtaking their slower allies and taking the front instead. For a while, the team remained silent, only their fast steps and heavy breathing filling the air between them. But at last, it was Lisa who couldn't take it anymore and leaned her head back as she took a deep breath.

"Holy shit, that was too close!" She yelled at the ceiling, relief filling her voice. "Did you guys see that?!"

"I _felt_ that!" The Pallum snarked to the back, shuddering as she could finally let her emotions out. Still, she steeled herself and shook her head, before focusing back to the front, Liberty in her right hand, ready as a dagger. "Don't celebrate too soon, we're not safe yet!"

"Anyone else...freaked out about...about how strong her wind is?" Welf gasped, speaking in between his breath. He let out an audible shudder, before letting out a whistle. "That wasn't her full power."

Honestly, she wasn't surprised if that were the case. Aiz was solidly in the same category of potential bullshit as Bell was. On top of that, she had way more experience than the rookie, so if Welf said that, it might as well be true.

She frowned.

Now that she was thinking about it, why didn't she just go full power from the get go? She could have easily broke through the make shift wall the plants made. Or kill the enemy with her wind. Hell, she could have-

She bit her lip before her thoughts escalated into insanity. No, there was no sense in thinking about what ifs. Aiz made her decision, they made their decision. They couldn't take it back anyway. She shook her head, getting the weird buzz in the back of her mind off, and cracked her neck.

Movement to her left stopped any further thoughts about the topic and Lili saw how Bell looked up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. Then, he glanced at the walls and he bit his lip.

"Monsters are incoming."

Whenever the hell he developed a sixth sense, she wasn't going to dismiss it as her grip on her dagger hardened. This decision probably saved them, as the walls began to break. Immediately, her head snapped up.

"Above!"

"To the right!" Welf yelled, nearly at the same time, his attention to detail as a blacksmith coming to shine.

"Got the right!"

"Got the other!"

Immediately, Lisa threw her shield to the side, knocking the flower head back into the stone before it could completely come out, while Bell directed his palm at the ceiling and shot a blast of lightning fast fire, killing the other monsters immediately.

This was the start of their run through hell.

The plants began to emerge from the walls, one by one, before lunging after them. While some of them, the team could simply duck under or jump over, it didn't mean that they would stop coming after them. Soon enough, Lili could barely hear anything as the monsters filled the way behind them, grinding against each other as they tried their best to kill them. If they weren't behind them or if their target was true, the quartet moved fast to eliminate them, or at least knock away. They covered each other's back.

Welf leaped forward when Bell's ribcage was about to get shattered. Lili shot her Static over her shoulder, when she spotted a plant coming up from Lisa's back, who didn't notice it. Their captain had to be pulled back by Lisa, who grabbed his right leg when he almost jumped too far to cut the flower like monster's head off above their blacksmith's head.

Naturally, all those saves and acrobatics took a toll on them, their breaths heavy as the enemies didn't diminish at all. While they threw their magic stones whenever they could do delay them, they soon ran out of them. It spoke volumes of the seriousness of the situation that Lisa didn't even complain once about the loss of money.

At the very least, they only had to go into one direction, Lili thought dryly as she jumped into the air, jammed her naginata into a plant's crystal and used the momentum to roll forward. Now if only the weird buzz feeling would stop coming back. She hated the fact that her body created a new tick in response of stress. Naturally, as if that weren't enough, the dungeon had to throw another curveball at them.

"Fork road!" Welf yelled, pointing at the path splitting into two. The Pallum's eyes switched between them frantically, not knowing where exactly to go. The Hermes family had the map, not them. Seeing Welf's and Lisa's panic on their faces, they were equally clueless. However, Bell grit his teeth, before twisting his body to the side.

"Left!" He screamed at them, before running ahead of them. Not having any better idea, the other three followed him, Lili and Lisa throwing their projectiles to cover their leader from the emerging monsters. While unspoken, they all decided to let Bell decide where to go, even when he had no idea where they were, just like they did. When more splitting paths appeared on their run, they trusted his intuition to lead them.

"Next turn to the left!" Bell yelled, his throat hoarse from the extensive use of his voice. At the same time, Lisa began to take off her bag from her back and began to fiddle around with it.

"This should buy us some time..." She muttered before spinning around, as she threw it with all her might. "HORA!"

By reflex, the trio covered their ears. The projectile soared through the air, before it slammed into the head of one of the snake like monsters.

Then, it exploded, and despite having her back to it, she could see the bright flash of light as it cast a shadow to her front. After removing her hands once the light subsided, she blinked furiously, the vibrations inside her skull not gone yet for some reason. Then, she snapped her head to the back.

"What was that?!"

Lisa grinned, exhausted as it was.

"Any explosives I had in there! Flashbangs, grenades, I think some weird slime?" She licked her lips as she glanced back. "Won't last forever!"

Better than nothing, the rest of the team thought as they smiled at each other. The more time they had, the more likely they would be able to find some safe spot.

However, their good luck didn't last for long and soon enough, the four of them had to ram their heels in the ground, skidding over it before coming to a stop. They all stared at their front in disbelief and it was Lisa who summed up their thoughts.

"Fuck my life."

A dead end. Due to the darkness, they couldn't see it in time until they already were right before it. Turning her head, she could see that there was about two hundred meters distance from where they were now and the corner they took. Too far away to run back and take the other turn, without meeting the monster wave they delayed. The fact that the dungeon seemingly stopped throwing them at them and was satisfied with the amount already sent was only a minor upside.

"I thought your ability was luck!" Lili yelled at Bell, not able to hold back her frustration any longer.

"It doesn't mean it's always working!" He defended himself, trying to sound placating. It didn't help, as she threw her arms in the air.

"Gods damn it!" She screamed at the ceiling, before turning around with the others, the ground rumbling from the approaching enemies. Then, she snapped her head towards their blacksmith with a glare. "Welf, please tell me you got some magic swords left!"

"Only two!" He immediately responded and clicked his tongue, grip on his weapon hardening. "I told you we should have stocked up!"

"How was I supposed to know the apocalypse was here?!" Lisa countered back, right arm ready to throw her shield when needed.

"This is the dungeon!" Welf yelled and ran his left hand through his hair. "Fucking hell, how many times did we tempt her on the way down?!"

"Guys, focus!" The Pallum yelled, spinning her naginata repeatedly in front of her like a shield, trying to psyche herself up as she saw the monsters appearing from the corner.

"Welf, please use it!"

Hearing his captain's plea, the Ignis bit his lip as he gave his leader a glance.

"But I only have-"

"We don't have a choice!" Lili chimed in with a snarl, stopping her spinning as she held Liberty high over her head. "Or can you not see all those fuckers?!"

"Arrrgh!" He rammed his blade into the ground with his right hand and dug into his pockets. "Fine!"

Those words filled her with some relief. She saw what damage Welf could do with his magic swords, a combination of the Crozzo bloodline and his pure skill. They could easily burn an entire army of monsters into cinders. The level up only made his creations stronger.

Of course, the moment she thought that, his arms stopped moving and Lili could hear him gulp. Almost mechanically, they turned their heads towards the blacksmith. H was pale as a ghost as he slowly took up his blade again and held it in front of himself with both hands.

"Weeeelllffff…" She said slowly, not liking what was happening. For a while, he didn't say anything. Then, the fucker dared to chuckle awkwardly as he gave them a helpless shrug.

Naturally, their jaws dropped to the ground, faces becoming as pale as his.

"Are you fucking serious?!" The youngest of the team shouted at him and he threw his arms up in defense.

"I must have dropped it when we got separated from the others, okay?!"

"Great," Lisa muttered, her voice exhausted as all of them felt. A weak grin appeared as she looked to her sides. "Got a plan b?"

"Stand our ground and fight," Bell immediately responded, trying to sound confident. If it weren't for his shaking, Lili would have almost believed it. Still, the words did the trick and morale rose as their mouth corners rose, as little as they did.

"Better than nothing," Welf commented, before looking up with narrowed eyes. "Not like we can climb up there in time."

Following his gaze, she saw that above them was one of the many pitfalls in the dungeon, that could be considered "rough short cuts" at best and "usual death trap" at worst. They appeared randomly and nobody would ever know where they would land once they dropped.

The moment she looked up at the hole however, she held her head with a grunt, as yet another buzzing filled her head. She let out a frustrated groan as she lightly hit her right temple a few times. Alright, now she knew that something was wrong with her. Once was a coincidence, twice was a hint, more than thrice was a pattern. Gods, what was that?! It was like someone stuck a bee hive in her head!

"Here they are!"

Welf's shout forced her to ignore the weird noise and tingling feeling, as hard as it was, and she was about to prepare herself to rush forward, when her ears twitched as they picked up something. Immediately, her head snapped upwards.

"Did you hear that?" She asked in a serious tone. The others gave her an incredulous look as the monster got closer and closer. However, before any of them could object, their eyes widened before they looked up as well.

It was hard to hear and impossible to decipher, but something echoed from above.

Voices.

"...sters right there! You ready to blast them?!"

"I sincerely hope you are correct about this!"

Lili almost let Liberty drop as disbelief filled her features. She knew those voices.

Two figures slammed into the ground right in front of them. One, wearing a green cloak, with a hood hiding their identity, with twin swords on her waist and a wooden one in her right hand. The other, a black coat, tattered and ripped by age, and pale skin when there weren't black bandages, a one handed silver axe in his right hand.

The green one spread her arms out, her body forming a 'T', while the other hand threw his axe over his head, before shooting out his palms forward.

"Luminous Wind!"

"Static!"

In front of them, a stream of electricity spread out, filling the entire hallway, coupled with green stardust scattered between them.

Then, the dust exploded into green orbs, covered by cracks of lightning, turning all of the monsters into dust as they screamed their last defiance. As the dust began to settle, the black dressed one scratched his head, revealing black spots of hair peeking through. He then casually caught his axe falling down with his left hand, while the other figure sheathed her wooden sword next to her other weapons.

Lili fell on her knees when the two figures turned around. She choked back sobs as her team fell down as well, relief filling their faces.

"I told you I knew where they are," Obsidian said smugly, shaking his arms as they smoked from his magic. In response, Ryuu gave him a flat look, her mouth thinned as she pulled down the green mask covering half her face.

"Forgive me for not believing it until now."

* * *

 **Awakening 12.4**

Honestly, it took a lot of self control to not just run up to the reinforcements and hug the breath out of them, Lili thought with a teary laugh. Still, she was way too exhausted, Infinite Shift running out at the lack of danger, so she remained on her knees. Next to her, Lisa leaned against the wall, giggling absentmindedly as she covered her face. Meanwhile, the boys to her other side didn't even bother trying to remain standing and dropped down on their behinds with relieved smiles, breathing heavily.

Anyway, her father dug his right arm underneath his cloak and pulled out four potions, before throwing them at the group. Suffice to say, they barely managed to catch them, giving him a small glare. Obsidian ignored them and knelt down in front of Lili.

"Mixed ones, drink all of it," he explained, addressing everyone, before looking his daughter in the eyes and ruffled her hair with a soft smile. "Sorry we're late."

Grinning weakly, Lili remained silent as she enjoyed his gesture of affection. However, there was still something on her mind. Her smile falling, she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"How did you know how to find us?" She asked in a soft tone. For a moment, his smile wavered, but shook it off with a sigh.

"Gaia told me and I rushed all the way here," he said, standing up with his hands on his hips. Lili giggled awkwardly. Right, his relationship with his goddess was rather complicated. Before she could comment further on it however, someone else approached the two of them, standing to Obsidian's left with crossed arms.

" _We_ did," Ryuu chimed in with a glare, before softening up as she turned to the girl "I'm glad you are alright, Lili."

Now that the elf was up close, the Pallum could take her time and actually look at what she was wearing.

She was not disappointed.

The green, flower shaped hood fit nicely with her blonde hair. Underneath the cloak the hood belonged to, she wore a sleeveless white shirt and rather short green pants. Like, really short and Lili had to do a double take at that. That was the first time she could ever see her hips, usually hidden underneath a maid skirt. Suffice to say...She felt her face heat up, but tried to ignore it. Other than that, she wore brown gloves and boots that covered more than usual gloves and boots. Their dark color contrasted well with the pearly white skin the elf had.

Lili tilted her head a bit, eyes beginning to fog.

Ryuu had a really nice outfit, she had to admit. Fit better than her maid outfit, that's for sure. It showed off her curves rather nicely...More developed than she...expected...

The concerned stare she received from Obsidian and Ryuu caused her to snap out of it. She blinked, before her head turned red.

Oh gods, Lili was staring, wasn't she?

Immediately, she coughed loudly, wiping any saliva off her mouth that could have been there and downed the potion down her throat, as she tried to distract herself.

She was in the middle of a death trap! No time to get distracted!

Instead, she tried to focus on her friend's face, a thing she saw often enough. But when she did so, she noticed that Ryuu seemed rather exhausted. Sweat ran down her skin and she panted a bit. Raising an eyebrow at the elf, Lili tilted her head after throwing her empty vial back at Obsidian.

"Why are you so out of breath?"

The words made the woman frown, causing relief in Lili as she managed to distract them.

"Noi-" The elf stopped herself and gave the bandaged man a glare. "Obsidian decided to run all the way here without taking any breaks. On top of using my magic...I apologize for being a bit exhausted."

The Pallum bit her lip. Right, stupid question. Experienced adventurer or not, going through twenty four floors in one go would exhaust anyone. Anyway, as Obsidian handed Ryuu a potion as well, Lili smiled softly as she shook her head.

"Wasn't criticism. Glad you're here."

Ryuu blinked as she drank the fluids, before lowering the vial and smiling back. Lili couldn't help but giggle awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

Then however, she noticed something weird. Despite the fact that the elf was exhausted...her father looked perfectly fine. While his clothes were atrocious compared to Ryuu's, his breathing was perfectly steady, with not a single drop of sweat on his face. Suffice to say, she was not the only one who noticed, as Bell blinked in confusion, pointing at Obsidian.

"Why are _you_ not exhausted?" He asked, tilting his head. In response, their teacher shrugged nonchalantly.

"Invested everything into endurance."

While the boys shared a glance with slightly open mouths, faces filled with incomprehension, Lili gave him a flat look, remembering how his system worked.

"Everything?"

"Everything," he replied with a nod and she slowly shook her head in disbelief.

From what she could remember, he received points per Gaia level up. While he could push his stats up as everyone else, as in training and experience, there were free points he could allocate wherever he wanted. And he put it into everything. Lili peaked at the merchant from Boundary with a questioning eyebrow. Lisa in turned nodded, a knowing grin on her face.

Alright, so her dad was a monofocusing idiot who compensated with training everything else. A part of her wondered how he survived that long with such a mentality, but she wasn't going to criticize something that clearly worked for him, considering he was still alive.

Anyway, Welf let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in surrender.

"I'll pretend I know what you are talking about."

Anyway, the amusement quickly faded as Obsidian cracked his neck and crossed his arms, giving each of them a look.

"So. Status report?"

Looking at each other, they decided that Lili would be more suited for this. Because of that, she took a deep breath and recounted the events. From meeting up with Aiz, going to Under Resort to meet up with the Hermes family for a mission, to going down to the 24th floor and finally, where everything went bad. How they got separated from the Hermes family and then later Aiz, who stayed back to fight off the stranger.

Processing their story, Ryuu remained stoic, while Obsidian blinked at them, before clicking his tongue.

"Well shit." He motioned for them to get up and twirled the one handed axe in his right hand. "Better go and help out the Hermes family."

"What about Aiz?" Lili asked concerned, as she stood up like the rest. In return, her father waved his left hand dismissively.

"She can handle herself. I know her type." He cracked his neck and made a hand motion as he started to jog. "Follow me."

"I will cover the rear," Ryuu responded and gestured for the rest to move along. As they swiftly made their way through the dungeon, devoid of monsters, Lili turned her head to the left as she addressed Obsidian.

"Do you have a map?"

"Nope," he replied, keeping his face directed to the front, while his eyes never stopped moving around, assessing their surroundings.

"So how can you find them? Gaia?" She asked with a tilted head and he smirked at her.

"I do it the same way I found you."

Before she could question what he meant, the tingly feeling that bothered her all the time resurfaced again. She flinched and growled, but then stopped when she saw her father's smirk widen.

Then, he let some lightning sparks appear on his hand and it clicked for her.

"You can do that with Static?!" She paused, before her face brightened up with glee. "I can do that?!"

He chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Eventually. But it's more helpful of telling if there are people at all, instead of figuring out who they are. Except if their have Static or have Gaia's blessing."

Lili giggled at the thought. Being able to figure out where enemies and allies were inside the dungeon? She could just imagine how useful that was. Especially if she could tell where Obsidian was in this hell...hole…

Her eyes widened as she remembered something and suppressed the urge to slap herself.

Damn it, what kind of daughter was she and not ask about his condition? Promise or not, one couldn't just shake off trauma that easily. This was the place where he was almost completely broken. Biting her lip, she gulped nervously.

"Are...are you alright?"

The only indication that something was off was how his hand tightened around his weapon. He let out a shivering breath, before nodding with determination.

"Fine." He gave her a dry smile. "If I focus on my bloodlust and rage instead of my fear, it works."

For a moment, Lili's eyes ran over his body, looking for any shaking or other signs of panic. When she didn't see them, she let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't lying to her. Before she could say something however, an explosion rocked the ground, going off far in the distance. No, not an explosion…

A roaring fire.

Immediately, everyone sans Ryuu and Obsidian turned their heads to the blacksmith in the group, whose mouth thinned grimly.

"I think I know where you're swords were, Welf," Lisa commented in a nervous tone and he clicked his tongue in response.

"No shit."

No words were needed, as the group picked up their pace, following Obsidian as he navigated through the paths. During all that, they did not stumble over a single monster.

It was the calm before the storm, she thought with a frown. Judging from the increasing volume of screaming, metal and other sounds of fighting, she wasn't that far off with her assumption.

Taking a turn, her eyes widened when she saw yet another dead end, made out of the same monsters that cut Lili's team off from the others.

"It's blocked!" Bell yelled from the back and Lili wondered for a moment if her father took the wrong turn. Said man however just let out a scoff as he rolled his right shoulder with a smirk.

"Not for long."

He reared his right arm back to the left, ready to swing to the right. However, something was off, she noted confused. His muscles tensed and he exhaled deeply, as if he was about to do something special.

Then he gave the monster wall a small tap as he extended his arm, but did not slow down, fully intend to run through. However, instead of clashing against the wall, the moment his body touched the monsters...they became harmless dust.

Gasps sounded, herself included and her head snapped towards his arm. She saw that it was shaking a bit, as he took a deep breath as if he exerted himself more than usual. On top of that, his axe was slightly damaged, the edge having chipped. She narrowed her eyes.

What the hell was that? She shook her head. It didn't matter, she had to focus. The moment they ran past the hole, the group came to a stop as they took in the situation.

It was utter mayhem, in the room that was as big as a city block. Though better than she thought.

Bodies, adventurers and monsters alike, burned around the Hermes family, less than half the numbers they had when they met in Rivira. Lili bit her lip, seeing the exhausted and desperate faces of the warriors, as more of the serpentine enemies moved in to fill the void. Asfi's eyes landed on them, before they widened in shock. Then, determination filled them, before she barked orders, trying to maintain morale.

Lili hoped she could live up to the expectations the level four just put on them. Still, she took a deep breath and tried to ignore the feeling of dread, as she analyzed the situation.

The ground was uneven, craters all over the place, which meant that explosives had to be in use. Considering the weird cloth she saw flying around here and there and the fact that Asfi did not have remotely enough explosive to cause so much destruction, caused a horrid thought to appear in her head. Looking further ahead, she saw who she could only assume was the enemy leader.

A shirtless, scarred man, wearing nothing but a long, white skirt, the same color as the monster skull he wore on his face. He was enraged, as he screamed to have the surviving adventurers killed, seemingly directing the monsters. Aside from probably being a tamer, his get up indicated that he was also something else.

A part of a cult. If he wasn't the only one in here, but was now...Considering the few veiled heads lying around, identical tatters of robes fluttering in the air and the explosives, a faint memory resurfaced, as she gulped nervously. Obsidian once told her a story about how fanatics could be dangerous. How they would be willing to do anything to get what they wanted, in their belief. The concept of suicide bombers. She wished she was wrong, but from what little she could gather, it seemed likely.

Still, the fact that there were no humans attacking them, only monsters, elevated her worries a bit. At least she didn't have to deal with that. However, they still had to deal with an unending amount of monsters. Which begged the question...

"I thought they used your swords?" Lisa asked numbly at the sight, holding her shield closer to her body. Welf grit his teeth in irritation, as he snapped his head at her.

"They did!" He turned back to the battlefield with a snarl. "How many are there?!"

"Uhm, guys?"

Hearing Bell's hestitant question, they all turned to him, who pointed upwards with a pale face of disbelief. Following his finger, they all looked up, before their eyes widened, and in Lili's case, gaped in shock.

"Alter Schwede," Obsidian muttered, and whatever it meant, the daughter agreed.

The entire ceiling was filled with dormant plant monsters. It was like looking at a farmer's land, upside down. The only thing that made the sight not completely terrifying was the fact that they clearly didn't move.

Yet.

Of course, that was the moment when the monster tamer finally noticed them.

"Tch. More cattle to the slaughter. Kill them too, Violas!"

Their heads snapped back to the front, seeing the enemy leader extend his palm towards them. While his eyes were hidden behind the skull mask, she could feel the distaste in his look.

"Great, a fanatic. As if this day wasn't bad enough," Obsidian muttered in annoyance. Then, he whipped his head around to them. "Stick close to each other!"

With that said, they all jumped down, weapons brandished and ready for combat. It turned out that they didn't need to. They barely touched the ground, when a wall exploded to the left of the room they were in. It was as if everyone stopped moving, when they all turned their heads and Lili's eyes widened in shock, before her face broke into a wide, relieved smile.

"Aiz! You're okay!"

The Sword Princess, while sweating a bit and dirt on her features, was perfectly fine and almost in top condition. She gave the Pallum a small smile, before she swung her sword to the right, cutting through the air. Then she narrowed her eyes at the enemy, pointing her blade at him. The stranger she fought against was nowhere to be seen, so Lili assumed she managed to beat her.

The masked man chuckled condescendingly, as he shook his head.

"Aria, hm? Looks like Revis failed." "Viscum, get Aria! Violas, ignore these newcomers and go after her too!"

Her heart fell when she saw the biggest snake plant monster shoot out, followed by its smaller versions, miniscule compared to it. The mass of monsters rushed at Aiz, enough to take on a small army.

However, the Sword Princess did not waver. Her face remained completely calm, as she reared back her right arm to the left. As the monsters came closer and closer, she took a deep breath.

Then, she proved what a monster she was once again. That she was more than just a swordswoman.

She was the master of the wind.

Her arm cut to the right.

And everything in Desperate's path got erased, as Ariel, the wind spell, shot out of the blade. Not destroyed, not pushed away, but completely eradicated. For a split second, there was only silence, as the story building big monster got cut through its head, barely leaving anything from its upper and lower half, unlike the "Violas" that were just gone.

Aiz exhaled.

The wind noticed the gap she created and rushed in to fill the void, creating an explosion with its movements. Lili held up her arms to protect herself from the surge of dust that pushed against her. Then, she slowly lowered them, taking in the scenario.

The carcass crashed on the ground, with Aiz twirling her blade before holding it to her right side, tip pointing downwards.

She did not look even winded.

The enemy leader fell flat on his ass, mouth half open in disbelief. A part of Lili couldn't fault him. After all, it took everything out of her not to faint as well. Instead, she remained frozen, eyes wide in shock.

A short cast magic was not supposed to be this strong. Such a strong attack wasn't supposed to be easy. While Welf did tell them about the potential...power she held back with the stranger, Revis apparently, she didn't expect it to be that extreme. Obsidian's lightning was nothing like what Aiz just showcased. Together with her martial skill…

She was an absolute monster.

Not very surprising, iher father was the one who voiced out everyone's opinion in the room, remaining relatively calm.

"Of course she's super bullshit..." He muttered, palming his face, before jogging forward. That shook Lili out of her musings, as well as everyone else in the group, as they shook their head and moved forward.

Well, almost everyone else.

"Bell, get your head out of the gutter!" She heard Lisa yell, before hearing Bell splutter in embarrassment. Well, at least they had fun, she thought dryly. With that in mind, they moved through the dust cloud, before finally meeting up with Asfi's group and Aiz. The latter gave them another smile, before she glared at the culprit of all this mess. The potion crafter then stepped forward, restrained fury in her eyes as she adjusted her glasses, bloodied as she was.

"It's over. Surrender."

The man appeared to have gathered his wits. He raised himself, a snarl leaving his mouth-

Before he could only spit out blood, as an arm pierced through his chest, a small crystal in its fingertips. Stepping back in shock, like many others, Lili spotted the head of the assailant. Her eyes widened who it was. She gasped when she saw who it was.

The stranger, Revis. The Pallum turned her head to Aiz, whose eyes widened in shock. Which meant that she either thought she was dead or at least wounded. Whatever the case was, none of them were true, as the woman gave her supposed ally a cold glare.

"W-why?!" He gasped out, but she ignored him, as she pulled her arm back, letting him fall. But before he could touch the ground, he dispersed into dust.

Like a monster.

Lili felt herself hyperventilate. What the fuck was going on?! Only the squeezing hand on her shoulder stopped her from panicking and she gave her father a weak smile. Then, she focused back on the enemy, who just swallowed the crystal with a condescending look directed at Aiz.

"To think you would just ignore me and run the first chance you got..." She clicked her tongue, as she raised her left arm, with the monster blade with it, at her designated enemy. "Strength made you arrogant, Aria."

The moment the name left her mouth, Aiz grit her teeth and immediately shot off from the ground, Desperate covered by Ariel and with both of her hands, she cut downwards. Revis in turn raised her guard, and their blades crashed. To Lili's surprise, she was not overpowered despite the magic empowered sword. It did not discourage the Sword Princess, as she unleashed a flurry of cuts, similar to when they first fought.

However, in this rematch, the enemy did not get overpowered. Sure, she backed off quickly, but her face did not show any kind of strain as her arms moved just as quick with the grotesque weapon in hand.

Before anyone else could move however, Revis' head snapped to the pillar as the two fighting individuals distanced themselves from their group.

"Viscum! Give birth until you shrivel up!" She commanded the monster around it.  
It did exactly that. It increased the pressure on the crystal, fluids being forced out as they were immediately absorbed. Yet, Viscum dried up quickly. At the same time, the ceiling rumbled and Lili gulped, knowing full well what was going to happen.

Just as she expected, the Violas dropped down from above, like ripened fruit from a tree. Then, thy all unfurled around them, filling the entire area up and making it impossible to spot either Aiz or Revis. Suffice to say, the looks on most of her companions were pure despair, while others were reasonably nervous as sweat ran down their skin, her teacher included.

"Fuck this dungeon," Obsidian snarled as the monsters poised to attack.

Like father like daughter, Lili thought as she twirled Liberty in her hand with an agitated breath.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Gale**

Why was she here?

As the monsters approached them, it was like time slowed down for Ryuu Lion, as the thought went through her head.

After all, she was not an adventurer anymore. That part of her life died together with her family. She had rested her weapons after all, in favor of spending her life with the Hostess of Fertility, with Syr. To protect her and to repent. Not to mention, she was blacklisted by the guild, so if she went into the dungeon too often, it would gather attention and people would put two and two together, hunting her once again. She had absolutely not obligation to be here.

Despite all those reasons...

The moment Obsidian asked Ryuu's help to save Lili, however he knew about her predicament, she didn't hesitate for a moment.

Maybe it was the sense of justice that was instilled in her by Lady Astraea and the others. Maybe she felt she could have some redemption by helping out the man. Or maybe she came for Lili herself, her friend. Despite their current situation, she couldn't help but chuckle silently. Seeing her as an adventurer must have surprised the Pallum a lot. The amount of time she stared at the elf was rather long. IT clashed a lot with her image of a maid, so she didn't blame the young girl for the long period of silence, as worrying as it was.

It was just one of her friend's good points that Ryuu appreciated so much. There weren't many people that she would think of like that, the other living one being Syr. She let out a sigh.

Maybe she was getting a bit gullible, going so out of her way for the ones she cherished. But then again...she hadn't lost her respect for herself yet.

Time accelerated and the elf calmly unsheathed her twin blades, knowing that her wooden sword wouldn't be as effective.

"There is too many...we can't-"

Ryuu had no idea who said it, but she ignored the female voice as she tightened her grip on her blades and moved forward.

"Static Shot!"

"Firebolt!"

Knowing the positions of Cranel and Lili, coupled with hearing their magic, the elf almost casually moved her blades into the path of the mindless monsters, heedless of any danger as they scrambled for the sources of the magic in the area. Her arms moved independently from each other, never touching each other at all, as they tore into the Violas that tried to get past her. Of course, some would get past her, but even then, seeing fire and electricity pass her and hearing the screams of defiance, she knew they could handle so few of them.

Ryuu clicked her tongue when two came after her and she had to jump. They brushed the soles of her shoes, before she rolled forward in the air, beheaded them with a cross slash and landed on her feet again.

While it had been a while, she wasn't too rusty thanks to daily morning practices, so all she had to do was "getting back into it" as Syr would call it. Nevertheless, she wasn't arrogant enough to believe that they all could keep it up forever. Luckily for her, Obsidian was of the same opinion.

"Static Spear!"

Streaks of lightning flashed behind her, a roar mightier than any of Lili's could have ever accomplished. She stepped back, returning to the cycle, her swords not stopping to cut into the flesh of her enemies, as the bandaged man leaned towards Andromeda.

"Mind if I take over?"

"Be...my guest!" She grunted out, shoving her blade up a Violas' head and Obsidian cracked his neck in response. To be honest, it bothered the elf that he always had to do it and that it was becoming Lili's habit as well. Still, now was not the time and her ears twitched in attention, her eyes not leaving the swirling snake like monsters, trying to find an opening that did not exist on her side.

"Bell, charge Argonaut! Ryuu, if you can, start chanting magic! The rest, play bodyguard for the casters!" The teacher barked out. Immediately, Ryuu sent him a glance and cleared her throat.

"I can use Concurrent Chanting," she explained, to remind him and to let the others know, before taking a deep breath behind her mask. "Focus on protecting Cranel."

"Point still stands, you'll be getting most of their attention," Obsidian countered and she decided that he wasn't entirely wrong, even if it would be a meaningless order, considering her own speed. However, before she could separate herself from the group, in order to not endanger them as she cast her spell, he snapped his fingers. Then, he reached underneath his tattered cloak. "Before doing that...Take this."

She quickly sheathed her left sword, before she grabbed whatever he gave for her. In that exact moment, a Violas tried to take advantage of the situation, but a swift blast of fire dealt with the problem. While she was covered, the elf eyed what she received and raised an eyebrow.

A potion with silver color. Considering she drank one before even arriving here, she assumed it was not a 'normal' one. Fortunately for her, she did not need to ask, as, for some reason, Obsidian threw his axe into the masses, spinning through as it cracked with lightning.

"Temporarily gives you Mage for one attack." He paused, before reaching into his cloak again, pulling out several potions this time, all of them changing colors by the second. "As a matter of fact, potions for everyone. Don't ask, just drink."

"Are they safe?" The captain of the Hermes family asked, as they all eyed the drinks with suspicion. In return, Obsidian gave them a dry look, eyes narrowed and mouth slightly open in disbelief.

"I wouldn't give it to you otherwise," he drawled and shook his head in exasperation.

"Are you sure I should use it?!" Bell yelled in concern, staring at his own potion in his left hand, the same that Ryuu had. Nervously, he gulped before using his other hand to dodge past a Violas, running his knife down its length."I don't even know how strong Argonaut even is or how much it can help us!"

"We'll see together, won't we?!" Obsidian yelled back, grabbing a head with both of his hands and taking a deep breath before burning it with his lightning. Dusting his hands off, he addressed the rest of the group again. "You know the plan! Stick close to each other and cover the VIP! And protect each other! Nobody will die today!"

Suffice to say, not everyone was that excited about the plan.

"Nobody here even agreed to this!"

"Just do your job, Lulune!"

However, there were also some that agreed with it in a heartbeat. Lili and her team downed the drinks immediately, before jumping forward, their weapons slamming into their opposition. While it was nothing compared to a level up, she could see how their abilities improved from it. The shield bearer specifically, Lisa, stepped back quickly, before closing her eyes with a breath of focus.

"Many strong shields together can become even stronger." A plant crashed against her shield and she grit her teeth to push back. Welf spun around and cut upwards, separating its head from its body. Once the pressure let up because of that, the Coin Shield's voice increased in volume. "United we stand against the tide! Proteco Phalanx!"

Her shield slammed onto the ground and the yellow energy reached everyone in the circle, including Ryuu. The moment it did so, she felt a rush of heat through her veins and she smiled a bit under her mask.

Increasing defenses? Quite a useful spell, as little it did for her compared to her stats, the elf thought with intrigue. Still, there was a time and place for such thinking. Ryuu took a deep breath, before she went to work. She couldn't cast her spell yet, since she didn't have enough room to maneuver yet unless she endangered her own allies. Which meant she had to make some.

With that in mind, she leaned forward and dashed through the plants, ducking and weaving away as she cut anything nearby. She kicked off from a Violas on the right, before swiftly kicking off to the left as she rose to the air, stepping and tearing her way up, before athletically moving forwards.

A while later, as sweat slowly began to form on her skin, she managed to find her 'perfect' fighting area. She was close enough to the adventurers to support them when needed, but now she also could dart around three dimensionally without fearing friendly fire.

A blast of wind caused her to glance to her left and the sight made her narrow her eyes.

The Sword Princess grit her teeth, breath heavy, as she tried to make more room for herself as she swung her sword as wide as possible, attacking both Revis and the monsters around her, the wind raging like a defensive, cutting shield. However, as it was a far cry from her precise and compact sword movements she was known for, her opponent didn't show any exhaustion or fear, as she used her overpowering strength to make Aiz retreat or take attacks from the allied monsters. Ryuu clicked her tongue at the sight.

Aiz was getting overpowered by the stranger. If it weren't for the Violas, the elf would have given her good odds to overcoming this trial. However, with the interference, she was at a disadvantage, as she had to sacrifice her focus and speed to make sure she wouldn't be surrounded by enemies. Despite jumping into the air to gain more mobility, Revis just jumped after her, with five or six other Violas following them.

It was not looking good.

Obsidian noticed it as well, as he followed her gaze and clicked his tongue in annoyance, throwing a right kick into the air, frying a monster through his soles, due to a lack of a weapon.

Where was it anyway? Ryuu shook her head. Questions for later.

"One hell of a way to come back from retirement..." He muttered and the elf already knew what he was going to do. To her surprise, his daughter heard him as well, as she spun towards him, her naginata not stopping to shoot lightning balls at the monsters, before stopping right in front of him with a pleading look.

"Dad, don't even think about it!"

In return, he gave her a soft look, before his gaze hardened as he turned back to the Sword Princess' battle.

"Aiz can't beat her," he stated with a growl, before his head snapped towards her, their eyes meeting. "Ryuu, you're in charge with Andromeda!"

While the elf wasn't a leader, she nodded nonetheless. With him gone, she would have the highest level in the group, next to the crafter. Nevertheless, the Pallum bit her lip, conflicted whether to object or not, as her worried gaze switched between her father and her friend. But in the end, her shoulders slumped and she sighed.

"Be careful." Before he could leave however, Lili did a double take and grabbed her father's sleeve with a frown. "Wait, where's your-"

Before she could finish, he shot his right hand up. It crackled with lightning for a moment, before Ryuu's eyes snapped to the side due to a fast moving object. Seeing that it was his axe, she followed it until it landed in his grasp, as he twirled it once, before lowering his arm.

Ah. There it was. She decided to chalk up its weird trait of flying around independently for a solid minute or two to "magic", like Syr would.

Anyway, Lili closed her mouth and nodded dumbly before turning away. Then, the two of them took a deep breath and cracked their necks. At last, the two of them shot away, Obsidian into the masses, while she went back to her position next to her teammates.

Ryuu nodded slowly, ignoring the mirroring father daughter action, and exhaled.

Perhaps she should start her chant now, given that Obsidian would get some of the enemies away from them.

"In the sky of a distant forest," her soft voice spoke the words of power. The effects were instant.

Green light shined behind her and she glanced back, her eyes narrowing slightly. So he was not lying. She indeed had a green magic circle on her back. While it wasn't as big as one would expect from a dedicated caster, it still was bigger than her entire body.

While Ryuu wasn't the arrogant type, she knew that her magic had a lot of strength behind it, without the mage ability. She couldn't imagine how much more powerful her spell would become with it.

However, the circle was not the only effect. Immediately, she picked up speed and stepped off a Violas' head to dodge to the side, as it instantly switched directions upwards. Clicking her tongue, she had to jump, causing two of the monsters to crash into each other before they could doge. With a shout, she slammed the points of her blades into their heads, before having to duck and roll forward as another monster tried to take her head off.

Meanwhile, Obsidian had an almost brutish approach to get through the monsters. With his enhanced senses, his arms targeted the closest monsters. His right arm hacked away at anything that got too close, while his left arm concentrated lightning in its hand for a mere moment, before it released the energy against its opponents. To his side, to his back, to his front, to above him, his arms went wherever they were needed. His head leaned to the right, as a Violas shot by and his left hand immediately pierced it from below, as lightning formed a spear head around it.

A loud roar and a clash of metal, followed by a loud "no" caused Ryuu to turn back to the fight between the level six and the stranger. The sight made her eyes widen.

Aiz Wallenstein had lost her sword, as her hands were thrown to her left side. A death sentence for most adventurers. However, she fell back on her magic, desperately knocking the arm that reached for her throat away and used it to boost herself up into the air.

However, the indestructible weapon didn't fly for long, as a hand shot up, caught it and smoothly used it to swing downwards to split a head in half. Now dual wielding two weapons, Obsidian stopped using his magic offensively, instead channeling it in both sword and axe now.

The bandaged man increased in speed as he began to spring, spinning his weapons like a wheel as he passed the enemies, and then jumped forwards, legs tensed like a spring as they took the lead.

At last, Obsidian reached them, kicking Revis from the side. The latter's eyes widened in surprise, before she got knocked away. The man clicked his tongue, before sighing and shaking his head. Then, he turned to Aiz and presented her sword to her. The Sword Princess blinked in surprise, before nodding gratefully and accepting her blade back, before the two of them turned their backs on each other and unleashed their elements through their weapons, lightning and wind, at their enemies. Covering each other, ducked under each other's attacks as they swung around to kill an enemy that got too close. The man opened his mouth, saying something in a dry manner as he shook his head and rammed his elbow down a head, making it crack against the ground. Aiz responded back in a neutral manner, more focused on the enemies as she stabbed through a monster's mouth.

"Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky."

Ryuu couldn't hear a thing of what they were saying, with all the chaos around her and the distance between them, but she could use her eyes. Some would consider it foolish to not focus on the enemy in front of her. However, years of experience gave the elf good awareness of her surroundings. Even if she didn't have eyes on her head, she knew when something tried to attack her. That those creatures, sturdy and powerful they were, were not intelligent, was just another reason she didn't have to pay too much attention without suffering the consequences. After all, they went after magic like rabid dogs, so she just had to protect herself and those in desperate need of her help, while the rest protected Cranel.

The reason she let her eyes wander away from her current battle? Not paying attention to the biggest threat in the room, distant as they were, would be foolish.

This...Revis was more powerful than anything Ryuu had ever encountered. More powerful than her, her instincts screamed at her. Because of that, any warning that this hybrid would give her before attacking was valuable for survival.

Not to mention, she would not allow Obsidian to die if she could help it. Lili couldn't lose her only parent she had, after all.

"Respond to my foolish voice..."

However, at the sound of screeching metal, the two level six adventurers snapped their heads towards the source with frustrated glares and the elf couldn't help but share the sentiment.

Not injured at all, Revis walked back towards them, her monstrous weapon scratching the ground as she dragged it after her. As she calmly got closer, Obsidian turned his body slightly to address his ally. Then, he said something, Ryuu could not read or hear. Whatever it was, it caused Aiz' eyes to widen and she seemed to be agitated as she spoke back. He shook his head and pointed at their group yet again. She bit her lip, when the man said something again, this time with a more soft expression. In the end, the girl nodded grimly. Then, to Ryuu's surprise, Aiz turned around and blasted towards their group. The elf couldn't help but frown, unwillingly mimicking Revis' expression as she saw her target leave. Immediately, the woman barked orders to the monsters around her, who quickly abandoned the current battlefield to hunt after the Sword Princess. They were no real threat to her, with her blade back and her wind cut around her as she tried to join up with them.

Nevertheless, Ryuu couldn't help but ask one question in her mind, as she spun on her left heel, kicked with her right foot against a Violas and cut another one on the opposite side of herself.

What in the name of the gods was he thinking?

She jumped forward, cross slashing against a Violas that was about to take a defender from the circle of adventurers, before darting back into the masses of monsters.

Not anything intelligent, if the way he leaned forward, arms limply hanging around, as he shook his head a bit as if mocking his opponent. Considering her darkening expression and veins appearing on her forehead, followed by a bestial roar and swinging her blade wildly, he succeeded in enraging her. However, it didn't seem he had a step after that, seeing as he barely managed to parry or block the attacks, some of them even cutting his skin, despite the speed his arms moved. It didn't mean that he didn't land any hits, but she could see that he had a disadvantage in power, judging from the barely visible wounds on Revis' body, if they didn't already vanish immediately.

But then she noticed something weird. Obsidian's wounds, small as they were, also disappeared faster than they should. The enemy noticed as well, narrowing her eyes as her mouth moved. Whatever the lightning user said back as he nodded, spreading his arms open, itwas something stupid yet again, as the intensity and rage of her attacks intensified.

"Give me now divine protection of starfire."

While exasperated, the elf took a deep breath, as she centered herself. Then, she had to sway back and slashed to the right with her right arm, narrowly avoiding an enemy from hitting her. Following that, she jumped into the air, spinning sideways as she used her momentum to cut with her left sword into another monster. However, mid air as she was, she was not able to avoid the Violas that came from above, her arms unable to move against the motion she was in.  
Fortunately for her, she didn't need to defend herself. Before the head could reach her, it got pulverized as a blast of wind hit it like a rock hitting the ground from the skies. Quickly landing on her feet, she jumped back as other Violas smashed into the ground she stood on. Then, her back touched the back of her rescuer and they gave each other a silent nod, before focusing on their own fronts.

Suffice to say, Aiz' arrival was met with surprise, but also relief. With the exception for one person. Lili, who had increased in speed and power considerably as she weaved between her allies and the monsters alike, grit her teeth, trying not to glare at either the Sword Princess or her father, doing her best to focus at the task at hand. Ryuu had to admit, she did considerably well in that regard. Speaking of her father, she glanced back to the battle and her mouth thinned with concern.

A sound of shattering metal managed to reach her through the chaotic fight and its user's eyes were wide open as his guard was blown open, before he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Obsidian Noir had lost his weapon. And Revis intended to take full advantage from the situation, as her lightened up with a dark fire, her arms tensing as the sword began to shoot downwards. The man barely managed to step aside, the weapon managing to nick his left arm, drawing blood from it. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he threw his now broken weapon away and raised his arms. Taking advantage from the wide swing, he narrowed his eyes and aimed directly at her hands, arm twisting. For some reason, it seemed to accelerate faster than normal, as it blurred a bit. Revis only had time to wide her eyes, before the monster blade was knocked out of her hands, spinning through the air as it decapitated some Violas. With a growl, the woman quickly recovered and rammed her fist into Obsidian's gut, who grit his teeth with a grunt.

"Give the mercy of light to the one that abandoned you."

Having Aiz around was a blessing for Ryuu. While she could keep up with the enemies swarming her, it took a toll on her, as her breath began to become erratic. Now she could keep her movements more compact, not needing to make wide swings or spinning around non stop, as the Sword Princess covered her back. The wind caused her hood to almost fall off her head, but she managed to keep it on, ignoring Aiz' extensive use of her magic as she slid forward on her lower legs, blades high above her head as she carved two Violas open like a butcher.

Then, she turned her head, she decided to take another look at Obsidian's ongoing battle, while prioritizing defense again. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrow, back handing a Violas getting too close to her with her right hand.

He...seemed fine, in a loose sense of the word.

The exchange of punches and kicks were brutal, even for her standards. They did not dodge at all, as they rammed their right fists into their faces. However, Obsidian lost the power exchange, as his head was knocked back, while Revis powered through. Then, the woman twisted her body and threw a left straight, which the adventurer took against his shoulder. Seeing as it went back farther than it should, Ryuu assumed that it dislocated.

Despite all of that however, Obsidian was not that wounded. His jaw should have been broken from the force behind the punch, but all he had was blood running down his mocking grin, as his nose bled. He popped his shoulder right back, before headbutting the charging Revis in the face. As she stumbled back, he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her down, before ramming his knee repeatedly into her face. After a few times, the woman roared, holding her palms in front of her face before catching his knee. Then, she pushed it down with force before spinning on her feet to send a right hook into his rips. He let go, grunting in pain as he stumbled back.

They were almost even, Ryuu noted while throwing her left blade to her allies, which was caught by Asfi and promptly used to cut a head off. Quickly, she pulled out her wooden sword, Alvs Lumina, and knocked a monster away from her. At the same time, she used it to amplify her already growing magic power.

But he was only almost even with her. Wiping the blood off her mouth, the cut she had on her lips already disappeared. It was obvious that he was going to lose the rate he was going, lacking the strength to do enough damage against the regenerating foe. However, it was not going fast enough for a certain individual and decided that enough was enough.. Shooting her right arm up in the air, the stranger caught her monster weapon, brought to her by a Violas like a loyal servant. Revis then slammed her sword into the ground, blasting him away to gain some distance. To make things worse, the man landed on his back, holding his head as he groaned due to dizziness.

At the same time, the stranger held the sword high above her head and her muscles tensed up.

Aiz' eyes widened in recognition. A dangerous attack then, that could threaten even the Sword Princess. If that wasn't bad enough, the woman whistled, causing almost a quarter of the hundreds of Violas to change direction and surround them, waiting like dogs.

Insurance, the elf noted grimly. With that in mind, she turned the rest of her body around, intending to do her best to save him. From her eye corners, she saw that Aiz was also gearing up to use her wind to speed through the enemies and support him.

However, it was too late for them.

Revis let out an almost inhuman roar, as she broke the ground beneath her and leaped at Obsidian. The sword accelerated into abnormal speeds, her spine acting almost like a spring that was unleashed.

Just as the cutting edge was about to touch him and tear through him, something happened that made Ryuu doubt her eyes.

He laughed weakly. Even Revis gaped at the sight, unable to comprehend why he did so. But it was too late for any of them to think about what the meaning of it was, for Obsidian Noir did his next move.

One moment, he lied on his back, seemingly accepting his death with his arms wide open.

The next moment, he disappeared, and a blur followed by lightning first rammed Revis from the side, causing her to gag in pain as her body bended sideways. Then, as she was thrown off course, the blur moved on to the Violas. They tried to follow it, but all they managed to catch were the trails of electricity it left behind.

At last, all the Violas in the area, more than two dozen of them, exploded into chunks, some of them already dissolving, with Obsidian standing underneath the 'rain', his head lowered as his arms hung limply next to him.

The elf felt a shudder run down her spine as she came to a sudden stop, at the same time as Aiz ceased all movements. She could barely see him, Ryuu thought numbly. A distant part in her head noticed that yet again, like with Aiz' destructive tempest of wind, complete silence fell in the room. Not even the Violas moved a muscle, turning their heads to their master like concerned hounds.

Shaking herself off her daze, she noticed something else.

His wounds, cuts, blood and bruises, began to disappear, similar to Revis' regeneration. The blood got vaporized by his magic, removing the blood of his pale skin.

That was when her eyes widened. Pale skin? It was then that she realized that most of his bandages were torn or burned off, as well as his cloak. Which meant that for the first time in her life, she saw the man underneath the disguise.

Short black hair moved ever so slightly under the wind his movements created. His face was completely blank, its features similar to the ones descending from the far east. A small scar crossed over the right end his left eyebrow, which twitched a bit as if he was in trance. And lightning that surrounded him, burning the cloth that already fell off him. It wasn't like the thin barrier of Static Armor that Lili used, but more like as if Obsidian had leaks appearing on his body, before closing immediately after. Depsite the chaotic nature however, they still surrounded him.

"Mjölnir..." A female voice muttered in awe. Lisa, Ryuu's mind told her as she kept her eyes on the man in front of her. He was almost like a statue, before he quietly let out a deep chuckle, brown eyes still kept on the ground as they cleared up. Just like a man waking up from a nap, he cracked his neck and fingers, letting out a satisfied groan.

"Static...Speedforce," he said, his gleeful voice echoing through the quiet sounds of dropping, charred remnants. Slowly, he turned around. With a smirk, he raised his head and met his opponent's eyes. Then, he raised his left fist in the air.

"What was that about killing me, you bitch?"

* * *

 **Interlude: The Hero II**

Bell didn't know what to think of his current situation, as he had his eyes closed in focus. Normally one should never close his eyes in the middle of a battle, as it was beaten into his head, but he had one simple role while being protected by others.

Focus.

Not to mention, he didn't need to see to get a picture of what was going on around him. The tearing of flesh. The clashing of metal. Screams of pain and defiance. Monstrous roars. Amidst them, a few voices stood out. Lisa, shouting encouragements to her fellow shield bearers, as she held the line. Welf, doing his best to maintain the few weapons they had, grunting in frustration. And Lili, her screams of fury and fear for her father tearing through the noise as much as Liberty tore through the enemies. A picture of carnage, with only a glimmer of hope in the horizon and him in the middle of it. It was just like in his story books. Honestly, this was the scenario he dreamed of to be in. This is the place he always wanted to be. He never had felt more powerful than he did now. By all means, he should have been happy.

Despite that, he only felt frustration inside him. How could he not? While his allies fought for their life, he stood there. He was the one who had to be protected. They risked their life for him, because he was their only hope. People already died, because he and the others didn't arrive fast enough, and more people could get injured or die.

He grit his teeth, trying not to lose his focus due to his boiling emotions.

This isn't what he wanted. This was not how he wanted to be a hero. Someone who changes the tide, yes, but not at the cost of others. He understood on some level that such scenarios always happened to heroes in the story, but only now did he internalize the horror and burden one had to carry, if somebody had to do this over and over again. All the suffering and pain...Not to mention, for all the magical energy charging up inside of him, it was nothing compared to what others in this very area could accomplish, more suited to being the character Bell imagined himself to be, like in the stories.

One example would be Ryuu, the friend of Syr. Someone he believed to be a maid. A powerful one yes, but a maid nonetheless. However, witnessing her speed and combat prowess, as she went in and out the masses of monsters like a kid playing catch, he realized he was wrong. Not to mention that during all of her movements, she still had time to cast magic. She didn't sit still like him and could contribute, as she showed when she swept Lili's legs with a kick and stabbed a Violas where the Pallum's head was before.

Then there was Aiz Wallenstein, his idol. As always, she was like an unreachable peak of a mountain, every time she acted as an adventurer. She was a true hero. Even now, surrounded by monsters, her movements were quick and graceful, even putting the elf in their group to shame. She even managed to show magic that was beyond him, even with all the power he charged, Bell was certain of that. He already witnessed her might if she put her mind into it, but now she showed precision beyond anything he had ever seen. With small movements, her Ariel were like small daggers, as she jabbed Desperate against the monsters that sneak up on their circle. If they came to oclose to her, she just cut through them with wide, powerful gusts as she swung her sword.

Bell took a deep breath.

He knew she wasn't perfect. He knew she was just a normal girl, especially after the time he spent with her and from what Lili told her. Her awkwardness at times just made her more loveable in his eyes. On top of that, the rare moments of her being a normal girl...He made him fall for her harder than he already did.

However, he could not prevent the feeling of helplessness in his gut. She was a normal girl, yes, but she was also the Sword Princess. Yet again, he couldn't help but feel he could never stand at her side. Never be worthy of her, for she deserved so much more than a weakling than him.

The Little Rabbit pressed his lips together, his right palm twitching. Was he still doing enough? While a part of him told him he was wrong, that his friends were right that he progressed good enough, he couldn't help but feel doubts when Aiz showed him that he still had a long way to go.

And last but not least...

While the rookie could not see him, he could see the results of Obsidian's attacks. It was like an invisible ghost wreaked havoc across the monsters and the stranger, Revis. When the man left behind some small sparks of lightning, a few Violas already got torn into burning bits, as if he did it with his bare hands. Well, he probably did, considering the lack of weapon. It was weird that he didn't use his lightning blasts instead, but who was he to judge? Anyway, before the monsters could even react, he was already gone, moving on to the next target. They tried to follow him, with their magic since, but even a newbie like him could see that it was futile.

However, Revis was not as helpless. While he couldn't see the teacher, the woman could, judging from the way her eyes moved rapidly, as if tracking something. She snarled as she swung her blade, ignoring the fact that she got hit three or four times by the time she attacked once. However, she still moved rather fast and judging from the blood on the weapon, she managed to hit him, little damage as it did. One would think that the woman would be able to catch up after a while, and she did get faster in dodging and attacking, as her ferocity picked up.

However, Obsidian did say he was rusty.

At last, Bell managed to see him, but only because he stopped moving. He cracked his neck, letting out a satisfied groan, as he loosely jumped on the same spot, turning his hip in a rhythmic manner. Revis didn't missed the chance and immediately dashed forward, intending to stab him. When he cracked a smirk, she then snapped her head to the left and swung her blade into that direction with both hands. The next thing the rookie saw was Obsidian clicking his tongue in annoyance, as he skipped away, shaking his hand almost playfully as blood dropped from it. However, he wasn't bothered by it, judging from the way he wiped it off on his pants. The wound even already closed before Bell could even blink. Then, the man disappeared again, as Violas crashed into where he just was, then got evaporated.

The young man gulped at the high stake battle he was seeing. Yet again, Bell only realized how high the mountain was he had to climb in order to reach his dream. To be that fast, that powerful, and able to adapt so quickly...He wanted to do that as well.

More and more Violas were called, for reasons that eluded Bell. Was she panicking? He narrowed his eyes. Her face was determined, aside from the rage as she roared her orders. Judging from that, she was doing this on purpose. Was trying to restrict his movements? While he didn't see a difference, maybe a high level adventurer like Aiz would be able to spot it, if it existed. On top of the fact she managed to get used to Obsidian's speed, even with the latter improving as well, it was the only thing that made sense to him. Still, he wondered why Obsidian stopped moving occasionally. While his first thought was that it was to provoke the woman, he was certain that Revis could not possibly be more enraged than she already was, her screams causing his head to ring. Not to mention the way he flared up his magical energy, causing his lightning to crackle like-

Bell froze mid thought and blinked in confusion.

There was an awful lack of fighting sounds around him. He looked around and couldn't help but gape. The area around them was completely devoid of monsters, giving the other adventurers plenty of time to catch their breath and observe the battle. His head snapped back to the fighting and he just realized how many monsters were around Obsidian, the only way to track him was to follow the path of carnage he created. All the Violas in the area were attracted to him. Whether because he baited them with his magic or that Revis suffered from tunnel vision and called in all resources to end the man.

"Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy!" Ryuu shouted loudly, causing him to return to reality. He turned his head towards her, who stood right next to her. He yelped when she gave him a serious look, as the magic seals behind her were ready to burst. "Cranel, Wallenstein! Now!"

Bell's eyes widened, while a part of him noticed that Aiz already charged up her sword on his left.

"But he's-"

"-faster than any of us, just do it, damn it!" Lisa yelled at him and he bit his lip. Well, if they said so, who was he to refuse? The energy inside of him was barely controllable as it was anyway. He took a deep breath and shot his palm forward, as Ryuu spread her arms out and Aiz swung her blade.

"Tempest!"

"Luminous Wind!"  
"Firebolt!"

The fire and lightning intensified thanks to the gust of wind it was back up by, and soared through the air next to the green orbs. His vision blurred, as he fell down on his knees, but he bit his tongue to remain conscious. Glancing to the side, he could see Ryuu struggling to remain standing as well, while Aiz breathed heavily as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. Still, Bell couldn't help but smile as he looked back at their enormous magic. Surely, it would be enough. Not to mention that Obsidian should be fine. They could rely on hi-

Blinking, the man turned around and gave their attack a blank look. Then his eyes widened in panic.

"HOLY SHIT!"

The rookie couldn't help but share the blank, disappointed looks as Obsidian yelped in panic and disappeared from the fire line. That left Revis only enough time to cross her arms with a shocked expression, before the magic engulfed her and the Violas.

Then, the area exploded. Luckily for his tired mind, he remembered to cover his ears beforehand, and only had to press himself to the ground in order to not fly off. He couldn't help but chuckle, as dust brushed against him. Even if he only contributed a bit, he helped create his explosion. A small feeling of pride swelled up into his chest.

Once the wind began to settle down, he carefully raised his head, trying to ignore how fuzzy his head felt.

Then, before he knew, his teacher landed right to his left, flat on his face, breathing heavily as his magic was deactivated. Before anyone could ask if he was alright, he promptly raised himself, dusted himself off, cracked his neck and gave the three attackers a glare.

"Warn me before doing that shit, goddamnt it!" He yelled at them, pointing at them accusingly. Bell scratched the back of his head awkwardly, while Ryuu shook her head in exasperation and Aiz bowed in apology. At their antics, one by one, the other adventurers around them relaxed, some dropping to their knees with sobs. Welf was one of those that had to support themselves on their knees, with a satisfied grin on his face.

"It's over..."

"Don't count on it."

Obsidian's statement caused the mood to whiplash and automatically, everyone tensed up. Bell struggled to stand up, but couldn't find the strength in his legs. Because of that, he was on all fours when the dust began to clear up and despair appeared on his face.

Revis, burned and having lost an arm, stood amidst the few pieces of monsters that withstood the blast. Very much alive, to be exact, as she struggled to catch her breath, but still had enough strength to give them a glare of utter loathing.

"What does it take to kill these people?!"

He had to agree with whoever yelled that, as he saw the woman already regenerate, returning to her beautiful and deadly self. However, instead of attacking, she just silently stared at Aiz, whose grip on Desperate hardened.

Then, the stranger spoke up in the silence.

"59th floor, Aria. You might find some answers there. It's pretty interesting," she calmly said and the Sword Princess narrowed her eyes slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"If you weren't lying, your blood should tell you," Revis responded and clicked her tongue. "You'd save us some work if you go there."

Bell wondered why nobody was attacking, but looking at Obsidian, he realized that the latter was wary. After all, it was a common adventurer rule to be especially wary of cornered beasts. Said beast looked up and gave the ceiling a distasteful look.

"Damn surface...trying to use us...We can do the same to you."

Before anyone could question what she was talking about, her hand touched the monster crystal pillar of the room. Whatever she was going to do, Obsidian saw it coming, as his eyes widened and he activated his magic again, lightning sparking up.

"Don't you fucking-"

However, he was too late. The pillar cracked, before collapsing into itself. Then, the ground beneath him rumbled. No, Bell looked up with a shocked expression. The ceiling rumbled, as it began to crack as well. He then realized what just happened.

The woman was collapsing the entire area down on them. Immediately, he tried to run away, just like the others, but fatigue caught up to him, as his vision began to darken. He grit his teeth, forcing himself awake, but he could not move.

Thankfully, he received help.

"Shit biscuits," Obsidian muttered, clicking his tongue in irritation. "Tense your necks."

"Wha-"

Bell couldn't finish the sentence, as a hand grabbed him, his skin tingling due to electricity, before the world shifted around him. The forces pushing against him was like a minotaur horde using him as a ball to play catch, so strong was the pull he felt. It only lasted an instance, but when the world made sense again and gravity was not located on his feet as he was dragged away, he couldn't help but keel over and throw up.

After he was done, he wiped his mouth, blinking furiously as he tried to calm down. It was then he realized what just happened and he couldn't help but cover his face rolling on the ground as he let out a silent squeal. He just barfed in front of two top adventurers! The embarrassment was too big, he wanted to die!

While making sure he didn't touch his own barf, he carefully peeked between his fingers, which were as red as his face. At the very least, what he saw made him feel a bit better about himself.

The elf visibly fought with her natural body reaction, as she took a deep breath with clenched eyes, her legs shivering as they tried to support her. After a while, she exhaled calmly and shook her head to get rid of the dizziness she had. Then, she folded her hands as she sat on her knees, looking as graceful as ever.

"That...was unpleasant."

Her statement caused Obsidian to chuckle. Before any of them could give him a glare however, he threw two potions at them. Swiftly, the two of them downed the drinks, relishing in the healing effect it had on them. It also cleared up his mind and he let out a satisfied sigh.

Then he remembered he and Ryuu weren't the only ones in that area and he shot up from his lying position, concern filling his face.

"W-what about the others?!"

At his loud question, the man waved him off as he sat down against the dungeon wall.  
"Eh, they'll be fine." He pointed at the two of them. "You were the ones who couldn't move anymore. Just relax."

Easier said than done, Bell thought, as he fidgeted with his fingers. Glancing at the elf, she had the same concerns, judging from the way her left foot tapped the ground. For a moment, he thought Obsidian was the only one who was completely fine.

Then, he shook his heads as he bit his lip. He took a sharp breath and began to rock back and forth in pain.

"What the fuck is this bitch made of…" He blew against his knuckles, shaking his head in exasperation. "Gods, they weren't that sore ever since Shino convinced me to do the fist cuff thing."

Bell and Ryuu blinked. That was rather unexpected of him. Then, he noticed their stares and raised an eyebrow.

"What'cha looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, just..." The rookie coughed awkwardly. "Surprised."

The elf slowly nodded in agreement and the man shrugged, groaning occasionally as he began to stretch his body. Bell wasn't sure what to think of it. Was the enemy that tough? Was he that rusty? Was a strong adventurer like him supposed to act like that?

Luckily for his sanity, they didn't have to wait long, as the group of survivors approached them, tired, but well. Including his team and Aiz, who brightened up at the sight of them. Obsidian smirked at them, running his right hand through his black hair.

"Took you long enough."

The group scoffed in amusement, some chuckling as well. However, to his surprise, Lisa remained rather serious as she stepped forward. Then, she knelt down, causing Bell to gape at the sight.

"Welcome back, Lord Mjölnir," she said respectfully, eyes closed as her head was lowered. The lord in return chuckled and shook his head as he crossed his legs.

"Long time since I heard that one," he muttered, causing the girl to stand up and wipe some tears off her eyes as she smiled at him. Before she could say anything more, Lili then moved up to her father, her lips pressed together as she crossed her arms.

"Can I do that too?" She asked, gesturing with her head back to the rubble that was their battlefield. Obsidian scoffed and shook his head.

"Unless I say you can, no."

The Pallum nodded slowly. Then, she sniffed, letting go of all pretenses and fell into his arms, hugging him tightly, as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"You were really cool," she muttered and her father gently ruffled her hair.

"I'm...sorry it took me that long to put myself together." His eyes teared up as well, but his smile remained as he leaned into the hug. "But I'm back now."

Bell clutched his chest as he was unable to hold back his smile. A part of him felt envy, that Lili had such a doting father. Something he never experienced personally, only his late grandfather being a comparison. Still, he shook those emotions away and instead grabbed onto the inspiration he received.

Comparing the old Obsidian with the current one was like comparing a shadow with the sun. Despite the odds being against him, the trauma and suffering, the man managed to get up and save his daughter. He managed to believe in himself again.

It reminded Bell of a something his grandfather once said.

" _If you don't believe in yourself, how are others supposed to believe in you? The first person a hero has to inspire is himself, after all."_

His hand clenched as he took a shaky breath. He couldn't give up just yet. It would be a disservice to everyone that helped him so far. So what if they were beyond him at the moment? He should look up to it with excitement and see it as a visualization of his goal, not despair and whine.

Of course, the scene couldn't last forever, as Asfi coughed awkwardly, averting her eyes as she addressed the two of them.

"This feels like it should be done in private."

"Hush, we are having a family moment," Obsidian said with a frown, making a shooing motion with his hand. However, Welf scratched his cheek awkwardly, as the other adventurers nodded in agreement behind Asfi.

"She's got a point. We still have to get outta here."

Lili let out a small whine as her father sighed and separated from her. Still, she stood up, begrudgingly as she did, before Obsidian cracked his fingers and turned to the path that should lead them out. He frowned and clicked his tongue after a small pause.

"Right, dungeon is a bitch..." He shook his head and made a hand motion towards the group. "Alright, people. I lead, you follow."

With that said, he ran forward into the dark. The group blinked for a moment, before they hurried to raise themselves and follow the man. The rookie struggled to stand up, despite the potion, and grit his teeth in response. He paused when he saw Aiz offering him a hand with her usual neutral expression. A part of him was giddy to take it, but he shook his head with determination, waving her off.

He would catch up, Bell thought with fire in his eyes, as he grit his teeth. He would not be left behind. With a shaky breath, he forced himself up and gave Aiz a small smile.

"I can walk by myself, thank you."

After all, how could he ever fulfill his dreams if he didn't move on his own?

* * *

 **Interlude: The Observer II**

" _I leave Aiz to you, sister..."_

" _Oi, Aria! Don't fucking do this to me! Come on, just hold on a little longer, I'm almost done here!"_

" _I'm...sorry..."_

" _Aria? Aria!"_

"ARIA!"

Gaia gasped as her eyes shot open. Frantically, she looked around as she raised her upper body. She was on a rooftop, her 'stealth' field surrounding her, only visible to her. As she observed her surroundings, she recognized the tall walls and the tower in the middle of it. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized she was in Orario and not…

The young looking girl shook her head, biting her lip as she lied back on the rooftop she occupied.

Well, it was just a nightmare. The thought made her frown, as she crossed her arms underneath her head. How long had it been since she dreamed about that day? The day where she lost everything? A few months at least, give or take. A personal low. Rubbing her forehead, her eyes fogged up. Over a thousand years and she still wasn't over it. Of course, that was natural, considering that her entire family vanished in a blink of an eye. The fresh reminder fifteen years ago and seeing Aiz ever since on a regular basis only made it worse.

Blinking, she wiped her eyes as tears formed and shook her head, before clicking her tongue.

Alright, maybe she had to think about something else. Something recent maybe...Looking at the guild building, her mind went to the one adventurer she technically had in this city. Obsidian. Thinking about him, a small smile appeared on her face. He was finding himself again, working hard to live up to the expectations others and he himself had. Mentally preparing himself to face his demons, something that Gaia could appreciate.

He never would have to rediscover himself though, if she had done anything to prevent the tragedy that made him pathetic in the first place.

Gaia's mouth thinned

Okay, that didn't work either. Guilt was still there, albeit a different one. A frustrated groan escaped her as she covered her eyes.

She had to relax, before she would get another mental breakdown. They were not fun to have, she thought with a sigh and decided to enjoy her hobby: Observing. Specifically, the sky. Not really special to look at, but it was calming nonetheless. She took steady breaths.

Clouds carried by a gentle wind, the blue sky, birds flying around and tweeting, one of them getting bisected by something blurred, maybe attached to a cha-

Wait a damn minute.

Gaia blinked. She rubbed her eyes and observed as the two pieces of the avian dropped down on another rooftop. For a while, she didn't move trying to process what just happened. Then, she shot up, dusting herself off, before hopping her way over to it.

What the hell just happened?

With that in mind, she soon arrived at the area she saw the bird fall, right into a shady back alley. Convenient. Climbing down carefully, she dusted her hands before leaning over it, before nodding to herself.

Yup. A cut, white bird. Clean and straight through the middle. She let out an impressed grunt. Neat. For some reason, it wasn't bleeding, as if an invisible barrier covered the flesh and prevented fluids from coming out. It was definitely by a blade though. Coupled with the chain she believed she saw, her first guest was a sickle chain. It was always a classic. Still, other than that, there was nothing special about it. No message or any special markings on it. Any normal person would stop there, not finding anything more. However, she had the feeling she knew that bird. Not to mention, she wasn't called the Observer for nothing. Or stalker by some people, but what was the difference? Smirking, she narrowed her eyes slightly, which glowed a little. With that, a lot more details lighted up for her and what she saw caused her to bite her lip.

As she suspected, magic was involved in cutting the bird. It had erasing properties and for lack of a better word, it was dark. The red flesh was completely covered by a black color, as if something painted over it. Which meant enhancement magic on the weapon. What type of weapon, she didn't know. There were no traces of metal, thanks to the magic. Would have been handy.

Taking a deep breath, she cracked her neck. Next, trying to figure out the speed. Closing her eyes, she directed them 'inwards' so to say, as she checked her memory. She was proud of her sight, even without any magic involved so the fact that she could barely see something meant...At least a level five did it, at the very least. Gaia sucked in air through her teeth as she scratched the back of her head.

That was...really worrying. Still, she had to figure out more before she could feel fear. With that in mind, her eyes went down, checking its claws. White particles caused her to hum in thought.

Paper dust. So it was a messenger bird. Somebody apparently didn't want this thing to do its job. Question was, why? Well, didn't matter yet, she needed more pieces. With the obvious places analyzed, she decided to look at the bigger picture, trying to get a general view of the bird. While at first nothing stood out, she did a double take in her second run and leaned in. Then, she blinked and wiped her eyes, before backing off, tiling her head. She scratched her chin with a raised eyebrow. Weird, why would there be traces of bone at the bird? Did it live near a cemetery? Did she use skeletons as scra-

Her eyes widened when it hit her, a small gasp escaping her.

Fels. He was the only one who used this kind of bird, trained to drop the message of quickly without having to land. Also, he was the only living skeleton she could think of.

She gritted her teeth as she snapped her head towards the dungeon with closed eyes. They were doing it again, tricking others to do their dirty work. Gaia could understand why they did it. Whatever missions they did, they were important and required secrecy. Didn't mean she wasn't pissed.

With a sigh, she crossed her arms and tapped her finger. Alright, what kind of bad omens and rumors were flying around lately? Since she had no idea what the message was about, she needed more information. Closing her eyes, she moved her pupils underneath her lids, slightly turning her head each time as if she followed turned pages. Going through her memory, she nodded to herself when she reached what she categorized as 'Dungeon Memories'. Exhaling for a moment, she delved into them.

Udaeus slayed, outdated by baby wind. Minotaur, outdated since it was killed by Hestia's kid. Unusual activities? She raised an eyebrow. That looked promising.

50th floor, with the new acid monsters and the strange Monster Rex like entity...Nah, that was way too deep. Fels would come personally, whatever it required, since how important it would be. Not to mention it would be way easier to notice any big groups moving down there, since one needed a big group to do so. 30th floor, place where someone went to retrieve something and then died in Rivira...no, Ganesha's family should have that, last she heard. Humming in thought, Gaia snapped her fingers when she remembered several rumors about unusual monster activity around the 24th floor. Not to mention the fact that the Hermes family wasn't heard of lately, which meant they would be able to go to that area instead of the Ganesha family. On top of that, all information about that area was removed after a short notice, the guild saying that they had it handled. Still, it didn't explain the message bird. After all, Hermes was in the guild's pocket, especially with their secret known to them. A warning? A call for reinforcement? Simple information? She had no idea, but whatever it was, it was important enough to send a message. No use breaking her head over it though. All that mattered was that she had a lead on where to look at.

24th floor it was then. Gaia grinned wryly. It was rather deep, but not completely impossible, if she tried hard enough. Well, no time to waste, she thought as she cracked her fingers and her neck with a groan. If she was wrong, nothing of value was lost. Well, except of her consciousness, but eh. With that in mind, she took a deep breath…. _and opened her eyes_.

As if leaving her body like a ghost, she saw herself from the sky. Nodding to herself, she 'moved' towards the dungeon, gritting her teeth in anticipation as well. After all, the monster hell hole could be...tough to deal with.

Just as she predicted, once she 'entered' the first floor, a faint ringing noise began to sound in her head, causing her to wince in pain. It only increased the deeper she went as she phased through the ground. First, Rivira and check if the Hermes family was still there. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, as the pain flared up, as she had to go through there different bars until she found them, Asfi being a dead give away. Luckily for her, Gaia found out what the message was for. Either a call for reinforcement or just information, given the fact that she saw the Hermes' family's reinforcement right 'in front of her'.

Bell, Lisa, Welf, Liliruca... _Aiz_.

Gaia couldn't help but let out a dry, biting laugh. Oh, they were so dead once this was over. At least she knew now who she could definitely send for this if the situation was bad. Hopefully Obsidian was tough enough for this.  
The migraine increased, and she hissed through her teeth as she refocused. Alright, found them, now to see how dangerous their mission could be. Delving deeper, letting out a grunt as the resistance grew, she felt like she waded through mud as she reached the 24th floor. After a while of searching, agonizing enough that she thought that she was leaking her soul, she finally reached the pantry. What she saw made her bleary eyes blink.

Well damn.

The room was filled with text book bad guys.

Cultists. Evilus remnants? Didn't matter, they were shady as hell. On top of that, the area was almost bursting due to the amount of plant monsters in the area. She weakly nodded to herself, as her vision began to darken. Yup, definitively required more firepower.

Shutting her eyes, she breathed heavily as sweat ran down her forehead. All she wanted to do was lie down for a moment. Still, she bit her tongue, the pain keeping her awake, before taking a deep shuddering breath. Raising her finger, she summoned up whatever magic she had left and activated the messaging panel. When it glowed, barely though, she began to speak her message.

"Two...Four...D...Help...Lili..."

Her arm fell down, but the surge of magic leaving her caused her to smile a bit. Good. She made it in time. Laughing quietly, she forced her body to move out of the alley. Dragging her feet, she blinked slowly. Now she just had to find a good...place to...nap…

" _Damn it...fuck...Alright, Gaia pull yourself together. You can mourn later. Just have to- Aiz? Where are you?! AIZ!"_

Screaming, she shot up, flailing around as she got tangled up in some sort of fabric. Something firm grabbed her and Gaia tried her best to get it off her. However, her already weakened state made it almost impossible, as she couldn't fend off what she recognized as hands grabbing her head. With a frustrated yell, the blanket was thrown off her and her cheeks were slapped as her head was held in place. With her vision now free, she saw the exasperated face of Loki, her eyes open for once in frustration. Shaking Gaia, who was still hyperventilating, the trickster let out a growl.

"Damn it, it's me! Chill out already! You're in my mansion!"

Just as she started to do just that, calm down, a glance at the window caused her breathing to become erratic once again.

"What time is it?!" She yelled in panic, attempting to get the hands off her, but Loki remained to be the stronger one as she clicked her tongue.

"Can't believe I didn't accept the help…!" Shaking her head, she began to lightly slap Gaia's cheeks. "Night! Now take deep breaths already before I punch ya!"

This managed to get her out of her panic attack. At least, enough to make her realized that she should better listen to her host before she would follow through on that promise. With that in mind, she moved back on the bed and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she attempted to reign herself in. After a while, she managed to calm down. Still, she bit her lip as she lowered her head in embarrassment, as Loki took a chair next to the bed.

"S-sorry..."

The trickster let out a dry snort as she crossed her arms.

"You better be." Her features softened up as she gestured with her head towards the window. "They're fine. Having a lil' party right now."

Hearing this, Gaia deflated as she sighed in relief, sliding down against the wall.

"Oh, thank the Earth..." She muttered, causing Loki to raise an eyebrow as she crossed her legs.

"What exactly did you do?" Waving her right hand, the goddess leaned towards her guest with a frown. "I mean, not every day one of my kids find a passed out goddess in the middle of the street."

Any other time, the petite woman would love to play coy and mysterious, since it was easier than being honest. However, as she was way too tired at the moment, in more way than one, she sighed and decided to put the cards on the table.

"Clairvoyance..." Shrugging, Gaia looked down on the blanket covering her. "Found some worrying stuff and this time I was not going to let my child pay the price for it by ignoring it. So I had to check and warn Obsidian."

Loki's eyes narrowed, probably asking herself questions about the clairvoyance, which was forbidden to use. Still, she shook her head and let out a thoughtful hum as she addressed a different point.

"And it knocked you out?"

"What can I say, I may not be as special as people think I am..." Gaia chuckled weakly, knowing that the trickster heard about her relation with Aiz. No need to hide that. A scoff escaped her as she crossed her arms. "Also, the dungeon was being a bitch."

The host sighed, shaking her head in exasperation as she rubbed her forehead.

"Can't believe Aiz didn't send me a message or something..." She looked up and gave her guest a genuine smile. "Thanks for sending help. I heard stuff got really bad down there."

Gaia shuddered at the words. She could imagine, with the amount of enemies down there. It didn't even include anything she might have missed. If she hadn't warned Obsidian...they would have gotten no help down there.

Speaking of no help, she remembered something as she snapped her fingers and pointed at Loki,

"I'm pretty sure somebody sent a message about this." At the questioning look she got, the petite woman twirled her right hand. "Found a bird carcass in an alley. You didn't see it?"

"Nobody checked, cause you just suddenly appeared out of nowhere," Loki explained and scratched her chin, before shrugging. "Well, gotta ask Aiz later."

Silence fell between them. Gaia bit her lip as she struggled the ask the question she feared to ask. Despite her shaking however, she managed to get the words out, nervous as they were.

"Does...Dies Obsidian know...I'm here?"

"Yup. Wanted to wait until you're awake."

Loki's nonchalant response made her freeze and a thousand thoughts flashed in her head.

She could run. She could ask Loki to keep him away, futile as it would be. Just avoid him as she always did. Avoid having to deal with the aftermath ten years of no direct contact. Loki wouldn't be able to stop her, if she did her magic, and the window was right there. However, she discarded the thought as quickly as they came, clenching her eyes shut.

He managed to overcome himself, it was only right she would do the same. Not to mention he helped out Aiz. She owed him that much at least, after everything she did to him. Only opportunity she had too, because she knew that she would avoid it forever if she wouldn't take this chance now. With that in mind, a shuddering breath escaped her, before she slowly nodded.

"Alright...bring him in."

The goddess blinked, before standing up and nodding, before leaving the room.

Gaia didn't have to wait long, until the door opened again. Once it was closed again, Obsidian turned around, lips pressed together as he laid his eyes on her. The petite woman couldn't help but smile, as wrong as it felt.

It's been a long time since she saw him without the bandages. While she didn't felt that much physical attraction towards him, the far East people of this world always were more appealing to her. Because of that, she slowly nodded, smile slightly strained.

"Hello, Obsidian. Looking good."

At her words, his eyebrow twitched and his hands curled up into fists. For a moment, fear filled Gaia's heart, feeling as if she made a mistake talking with him. However, he took a deep breath and relaxed, cracking his fingers with a sigh.

"Gaia." Then, he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, sending a frown at her. "Did you plan this?"

For a moment, she wanted to deny it, asking him how he could think that. However, she then remembered her whole approach of interacting with him. Missions, orders, like in those video games from their world...It was rather easy to think she actually wanted this to happen to him. Still, she felt the need to reveal the truth, to at least attempt to fix this, as she shook her head.

"You think too much of me. I didn't," she said with a wry smile. Instead of the desired outcome however, he only grit his teeth.

"Don't bullshit me. This sounds right up your alley-"

"Obsidian, you can think of me what you want, but I swear to you I didn't have anything to do with this," she interjected, almost a pleading tone in her voice. It was enough to make him stop and blink in surprise. She lowered her head and she pressed her lips together in shame. "I'm not almighty. You of all people should know that. I didn't want any of this to happen."

The man stared at her for a moment, looking a bit skeptical, before clicking his tongue in annoyance, scratching the back of his head in irritation. Once he closed his eyes and sighing, he turned back to her, flat look still in place.

"Are you talking about the plants?"

"That and everything before." Gaia nodded before averting her eyes with a dry snort. "I understand if you hate me-"

"I don't hate you. I can't. Not without being a hypocrite." His tired words caused her to snap her head up, seeing his anger gone, replaced only by disappointment. "But that doesn't mean I like you. You come and go when you please, you pulled me in this world with no care..."

Each sentence stabbed her in the heart, making her wish she didn't care now. Still, she grit her teeth and accepted the harsh words, knowing that she needed to hear it. After she rubbed her face, she stood up from the bed, her legs shaky and her hands folded as she stared at the ground.

"I know I...was a terrible person. Still am." She looked up with wet eyes, her lips quivering. "But I can guarantee you, that you aren't just my toys. You grew on me. I would give up everything to protect you and I do."

At the last sentence, he moved away from the wall and spread his arms wide open, a snarl on his face.

"How?! You still have your divinity, right!? Why not-"

"I lied."

Her soft voice was nothing compared to his aggravated yells, but it was enough to make him stop, sending her a look of disbelief as he lowered his arms.

"What?"

At his whisper, she hugged her left arm while averting her eyes, uncomfortable about the topic. Still, with a sigh, she snapped her fingers, creating an isolating dome around them. No more secrets after all. He tensed up, but she ignored it as she explained her words.

"I'm using up almost all of my power available to maintain the system and...other stuff." She looked up after swallowing down some saliva. "There is a reason I'm limiting myself to the four of you. That's my maximum. Reason why the dungeon could knock me out like that."

"What about your disappearance thing? Or this?" Obsidian asked, gesturing with his hand at the room.

"Specialty costs less. That includes seeing and hiding. Former would work perfectly fine on anything but the dungeon."

"Because it's sentient."

"Yup. Gave me a migraine and I barely finished that message."

Processing her words, he went back to the wall next to the door, leaning back as he nodded slowly.

"So your system..." He started, twirling his hand.

"Is flawed in a sense, yes," Gaia finished raised both of her palms, pointed upwards. "All I have are...well, admin rights and my disappearance trick."

"Admin?"

"Those quests and their rewards. They aren't created by thin air," she explained with small amusement and it dawned on his face.

"Excella."  
"Yup," she confirmed and put her hands on her hips."I modified it so that it will be less jumps and more walking, so to say. Also I made it so that creativity would be rewarded."

He scratched his chin, taking in all the information. Meanwhile, Gaia couldn't help but frown. They went off topic. It was partly her fault, but also his for not calling her out on it. Maybe a part of him, just like her, didn't want this talk. Still, that part had to go fuck itself.

Enough mechanics. This was just distracting from the actual problem at hand. While she loved to avoid it any longer, it only made things worse. With that in mind, she rubbed her hands with a deep breath.

"But let's get back on track...with what little I have right now, I would do anything for you guys," she said grimly, causing him to freeze, eyes still averted as he gulped. Seeing that, Gaia sighed before continuing on, guilt almost starting to burst out of her body as tears welled up again.

"I could have saved them. Save you. Done the same thing I did this time." She let out a choking laugh, wiping her eyes. "I'm a bad person, and I know it. My actions did a lot of wrong to the world. Or inaction, in this case." She bowed her head, clenching her watery eyes shot. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I am asking for a second chance, to work for it."

As she expected, he didn't say anything, the room in complete silence aside from their breathing and her fighting back her pathetic sobs.

"You..." He started in disbelief, before scoffing. "You are so stupid..."

"I realize that, yes," she replied in a serious tone, before raising her head, looking into his disbelieving face with a sad smile. "Too late, too little?"

"...Yes."

The words shouldn't have hurt her as much as they did, but she couldn't prevent the tearful wince and the sharp breath of intake to occur. Lowering her head in resignation after seeing his blank face, she at least knew she tried. However, just as she was about to turn around and lie down on the bed, Obsidian sighed. "I...can still try. That's it."

Her head snapped around, seeing the man already opening the door. Subconsciously, she deactivated her magic, but couldn't help but look at his back in disbelief. He...seriously was giving her another chance?

"Sid."

Before she knew it, she called his name, the one only his family called him by. He turned around, tired more than before, and raised an eyebrow. Gaia bit her lip as she realized that she didn't know what to do. What did she want to say? I love you? I'm proud of you? They all fell flat, not enough to for this situation. Not enough for...for…

Gaia's eyes widened.

Her family. Obsidian was her family. She did a crappy job of treating him like one, but he was. Another thing she had to fix.

With the words she should have told her old family. With a small smile, she tilted her head at him, tears running down freely.

"Talk to you later."

His eyes widened for a moment, before he let out a snort, smiling back a bit too, eyes softening up.

"Later."

With those words, he left the room and Gaia struggled to not fall down on her knees immediately as she let out a sigh of relief, sobbing in between as she tried to calm down and wiping her tears.

He was a good person. The others might not be as generous. However, it didn't mean she shouldn't try. Today...was a good day, she thought in amusement. She wasn't complete garbage.

Her sister wasn't a liar.

Before she could continue her thoughts, she looked up to see Loki leaning against the doorway, arms crossed as she gave her a neutral look. Gaia blushed, coughing awkwardly as she rubbed her eyes more furiously and took a shuddering breath, trying to get back her composure. With her hands on her hips, she pressed her lips together.

"Did you hear anything?"

The trickster in turn drilled her finger into her left ear nonchalantly.

"Nah, I suffered from deafness for a little." Just as Gaia wanted to sigh in relief however, Loki became more serious as she gave her guest a glare. "You gonna have a heart to heart with Aiz as well?"

It sounded like a question, but it was more of a demand. A demand that filled the petite woman with conflicted emotions, as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

1500 years. It was that long until she saw Aiz again and even then, Gaia felt she didn't deserve to be in her presence. She was fully aware of her sorrow, her desire to see her family again...But she just couldn't fulfill it. It had been so long, the guilt overpowering any sense of responsibility she had left. Not to mention, she had a new family. It felt wrong to intrude on the stability that she managed to build up again.

However, enough was enough, she thought as she bit her lips.

What did she just say to Obsidian?

Talk to you later.

How much later did Aiz have to wait for her? How much later would she still have to wait, until her stupid aunt got her shit together? Didn't she just tell herself to quit the bullshit? Didn't she manage to come clean with Obsidian? Why couldn't she do that with her own niece?

The answer was simple. There was none. No reason to do this any longer to her little baby wind.

"Loki...Call Aiz in."

/

AN:

Support me on pa tr e on/ObsidianNoir


	13. Chapter 13

**Decompression 13.1**

Lili let out a loud yawn, covering her mouth while doing so as she slowly moved through the morning streets of Orario. Last time she felt that tired was when they managed to escape the 24th floor. Now that was a long day.

Obsidian may have been covering their front, with Aiz and Ryuu joining in once they rested enough, but they still had to walk. Still, despite the fact that the mood was somewhat subdued with the casualties, people were happy that so many survived in the first place, so the atmosphere could have been a lot worse. This applied to her mood at the time as well. While Lili felt a little useless in the entire endeavor, she knew that there was nothing she could have done, especially considering that high class adventurers like Asfi and Aiz were hard pressed by this situation, thus keeping negative thoughts to a minimum. Surprisingly, Bell too, out of all people, seemed to recognize that and wasn't in the dump she expected him to be. As a matter of fact, he was walking taller than usual at that time.

Anyway, before they knew it, the group arrived at the surface, split paths with the Hermes family and made a bee line to their home. That's when they found out that nobody had never received Aiz' message, which was worrying on its own. They eventually figured out that somebody intercepted the message, thanks to Gaia, who revealed herself for some reason. But that came later.

Before that, the group was naturally confused of why everyone was making such a big fuss over them when they arrived, as if they didn't know where the Sword Princess went with the others. Suffice to say, people were extremely worried for them and they showed it. Mostly to Aiz, but Lili fell victim to the group hugs, courtesy to the amazons and Lefiya, and the scoldings, specifically Riveria, as well.

However, that did not compare to the reactions of the divine. Their gods weren't exactly happy when they arrived. Actually, they were really enraged, especially Hestia, who chased Lisa and Bell around in the mansion until Finn and Gareth decided to step in and catch them for the goddess. Still, the two of them were banned from going into the dungeon and had to work in New Age. Same fate went to Welf, who was pretty much going to be stuck in his forge for a long time. Still, Lili felt she got the worse card dealt to her.

Being Riveria's personal assistance. Or in clearer words, her paperwork machine. She rather wanted to clean the entire mansion than doing that, but punishment was punishment. To which Obsidian agreed, the bastard. How was she responsible for them not getting the message? Well, she supposed that she could have taken the time to go back up and inform them, but that would have been a waste of time, in her opinion.

Anyway, once the punishments were given, the mood did a complete turn as they celebrated their survival, dealing with an insane cult and recent stat boosts, a rather good one in Lili's case. It went on for quite a while and she only had some memories about it. Something about Lefiya having gotten a new elven friend recently, Welf having a girlfriend or something like that, Finn having to pacify Tione again after he tried to flirt with someone...Shenanigans along those lines. All in all, it was a fun party, even if Ryuu didn't stick around.

The next morning was pretty much a period of suffering. Not a lot of sleep and having to deal with hung over family members, two of them having decided that Lili's bed was the most comfortable one. The Pallum had to spent half an hour trying to maneuver out of the limbs and had to leave Lefiya behind in the pile of sleeping women.

Her sacrifice would be remembered.

At the very least Aiz woke up positively rested. In fact, Lili had never seen her that happy before that morning. Whatever she did when she disappeared from the party, it had to be one of the best things ever. Probably because she finally met her aunt again, Gaia.

Who apparently was in the same building Lili was, and had a talk to her father and to Aiz. Even though the goddess never showed any indication of ever wanting to do that with these two. Honestly, the Pallum was torn about this issue. On the one hand, she was garbage in her eyes. After all, she was worse than Soma, being as neglecting as she was. On the other hand...she made Lili's friend happy. While she did have red eyes, Lili could tell that Aiz cried from joy than sadness that night. And her father…

He didn't forgive Gaia, but he left the door open. Gave her a chance. The daughter sighed and hung her head low. Yet again, Obsidian showed he was a better person than she could ever be.

Anyway, that was a few days ago and finally, she was given some leeway by Riveria and was allowed to attend training with her team and her father again. Speaking of the latter…

It was like he became a completely new man, as if the bandages were a mask he discarded and a heavy weight fell off his shoulders. Their home life had seen a lot of improving, with his good mood infecting her every time she came back from her paperwork punishment.

They didn't do anything special at home. At times, they just sat around, comfortable in silence and she on his lap, reading sometimes. Other times, they just cleaned or talked about random stuff. It was just idle things they did, but…it felt like their bond deepened ever since the dungeon. Enough that the both of them were comfortable enough with each other to sleep in the same bed. Some people might call it weird, but screw them. Cuddles were great, especially now that he wore a proper pajama instead of itchy bandages. Not to mention, it helped with the occasional nightmare she had, Obsidian being her lifeline to grab on when it got really bad. Speaking of nightmares, she wasn't the only one. With a frown, she remembered how uneasy her father slept and always calmed down a bit when he hugged her back. For how long was he suffering from this?

Lili sighed. Whatever, at least she could help out now and they both got to have decent sleep with cuddle partners. If only he stopped leaving before she even wakes up, she thought with a grumble.

"You okay?"

The concerned male voice made Lili blink and she shook her head, rubbing her forehead in exhaustion.

"I'm fine," she muttered back to her team, ignoring the fact that she managed to arrive at the staircase to the walls and meet her teammates while she was lost in thought. She cracked her neck and let out a sigh. "Just a bit tired."

"We noticed," Lisa said with small amusement. The Pallum rolled her eyes when the group chuckled, but smiled as well as they walked up onto the walls. Once they got up, the sight they got to see was a bit surprising, but not completely unexpected as the girl rolled her eyes.

Well, at least she knew where her dad was now.

Without a shirt, the man demonstrated a high level footwork, as he stepped around, as if facing an invisible enemy. His arms blurred as he jabbed into the air, creating cutting sounds as sweat ran down his skin.

Lili couldn't help but giggle as she covered her mouth.

Seeing his actual smile, without the bandages, was always a good sight to behold, she thought with a small grin. He seemed to have fun with getting back into form, judging from the loud shout he let out as he spun on his left heel and kicked into his imaginary opponent. Turning to her friends, she saw them stare at the spectacle with amazement as well. Welf crossed his arm, whistling, while Bell simply looked on with wide eyes. Lisa on the other hand...She drooled.

Lili's mouth thinned and she shuddered. Eww. Her reaction caused the merchant girl to snap out of it and wipe off her saliva with a blush. Bell tilted his head in confusion while Welf sighed in exasperation.

And still, Obsidian didn't notice them. The team looked at each other in confusion. He even turned to them a few times! Lisa cleared her throat, putting on a polite smile.

"Lord Noir?"

Not reacting to them at all, he began to dodge and weave, mostly moving his upper body. Welf sighed and cupped his hands in front of his mouth.

"Hello?!"

Still, Obsidian didn't hear them, as he raised his right knee and threw side kicks into the air. Having enough, Lili stomped forward, but not too far, wary of his range, before taking a deep breath.

"DAD!"

This time it did the trick, as he abruptely stopped and tilted his head to look at them. He blinked before putting his leg down, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't hear you," he replied nonchalantly and received looks of disbelief in response.

"How?!" They all yelled in unison, but he was not fazed at all as he pointed at his ears.

"Was in the zone and listened to music in my head." At their blank faces, he chuckled and twirled his finger before dropping his arm. "I have a mental connection with Gaia members."

The group fell silent, as they gaped at their teacher. In the end, Lili crossed her arms with narrowed eyes.

"That's bullshit."

In return, Obsidian raised an eyebrow, grinning at the same time.

"Bullshit as in unfair or bullshit as in unbelievable?"

"Both."

At her response, the man let out a warm laugh and shook his head in amusement. The others chuckled as well, before Bell raised his hand, tilting his head at the same time.

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" He asked, pointing at Obsidian.

"I am paler than your hair," he responded dryly, dusting his hands off with a grin. "I need some tan or else I'll get teased by my family that isn't here at the moment." He paused and raised an eyebrow. "You guys have a problem?"

"Absolutely not," Lisa immediately interjected in a serious tone, causing everyone in the area to sweat nervously at her intense look. Coughing awkwardly, their teacher clapped his hands together before he began to jump on the spot, as if loosening himself up.

"Well, time to get fit, people!" He shouted in excitement and Welf scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"It's like he got younger by a decade or two..." He muttered and the team nodded in agreement. Sadly, he was heard, because Obsidian's grin turned more malicious as he turned towards them.

"Let's keep it simple and go for a run." Stopping his jumping, he crossed his arms and gestured with his head towards the wall. "I saw how your endurance wasn't good enough, so we gotta fix that."

Following his gaze, all they saw was the length of the wall. Lili blinked, before her mouth widened in shock. Snapping her head towards him, she opened her mouth to ask if he had his head properly screwed on. Unfortunately, nothing came out as she saw his knowing smirk. With a sigh, she designated herself to her fate and shared a look with the gang, similarly not looking forward to what they had to do.

Running around the wall that surrounded Orario. Naturally, that would take a while, as in at least an hour if they could keep their pace. Around the quarter of the distance, their breath was already ragged as they jogged on. To make matters worse, Obsidian ran with them.

Or rather, past them, considering he used his stupid Speedforce. Nope, Lili was not jealous at his lightning speed.

"Sup."

Not at all, as he demonstrated it again

"Sup."

And again.

"Sup."

The air cut behind her again and she snapped her head back, snarl already coming out of her throat.

"Don't you-"

"Sup."

"ARGGGH!"

The worse was, the Pallum was sure that Obsidian was holding back, considering he only sweated a bit more than before when they finally finished their single run, while he managed...five? Whatever, anyway he ran enough rounds past them that all of them, even Bell, gave him a glare, weak as it was as they struggled to breathe, much less stand. At least Welf and Lisa were the only ones supporting themselves on their knees, while Bell and Lili just gave up and pressed their cheeks against the nice, cold stone.

"I can't believe I am saying this...but I liked you more as a burnt out old man." Welf commented in between his breaths, heaving as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

"Too bad, I like having less issues," Obsidian said with a shrug, before focusing back on his stretching next to Lili. The latter bit her lip at his words as she gave him a worried look. When he noticed and leaned in, she took a deep breath.

"Got better?" She muttered worried. His eyes widened, before his expression softened up as he ruffled her hair.

"Yup." Removing his hand, he crossed his arms. "Same?"

"Yup," she replied weakly, nodding slightly. Humming satisfied, he turned to the rest, whose breath was steady enough that they either stood upright or at least sat up in Lili's and Bell's case. He gave them an appraising look, checking them over, before he nodded with a grin. With that done, he put his hands on his hips.

"Anywho, we got body endurance in. Now it's time for mental endurance."

The four students tilted their head at that.

"How do you train that?" Bell asked and Obsidian chuckled before raising his right arm.

"Like this."

Magical energy flared up around his arm, not the familiar Static Lili was used to, but neutral magic. Then, it started to condence into a single ball on the ball of his hand. Then, it started to move, speeding up, before it blurred all around his arm, almost appearing like an arm ring.

"Basically focus some form onto your body and try to move them around," he explained, as the ball began to create an eight pattern on his arm, before switching over to zig zagging. The daughter crossed her arms skeptically.

"That's it?" She asked, not seeing how hard it could be. Giving her a knowing wink while the others shared a look, agreeing with her question, he crossed his arms, stopping the flow of magic.

"Magic is like a muscle. Keep using it and it becomes natural." He closed his eyes and nodded to himself. "I had to do that a lot to get Speedforce down."

Hearing the name of the spell, Lili immediately stood up, giddy expression directed at her father.

"What are we waiting for?"

However, her hopes were quickly destroyed when he raised his right hand with a flat expression.

"I'm still not going to teach you how to do this."

Immediately, she puffed her cheeks up. Killjoy.

Once the laughter died out, they all sat down and focused on the task at hand. Lili concentrated purely on herself, as she began to summon up her magic, however, this time she left out the lightning charging part. Then, she began to create a line on her body, like a snake slithering across herself. She blinked for a moment, before smiling.

Well, that was easier than she thought. For a while, she played around with it, like her father did, drawing circles and squares. After a while however, a slight pain began to appear in her head and she rubbed her temples as she took a break for a moment.

Huh, it was actually starting to get a little exhausting. With that in mind, she breathed out, leaning back against the wall, before looking at the others. What she saw made her blink.

They were currently barely able to create an orb. Nowhere to moving it as she was doing it.

Huh. So that's why he winked. Maybe it was her experience with empowerment magic as opposed to the casting magic they had? Or it was Infinite Shift kicking in, but she wasn't so sure about it. She wasn't in combat currently, so it shouldn't start yet. A few jabs in the air confirmed to her that she did not get faster, so it was probably just her being more experienced and efficient.

She had to say, it felt nice. As she thought that, she puffed out her chest proudly, grinning cheekily as she saw the others give up, dropping onto their arms to support themselves.

"O-okay...harder than...I thought..." Lisa muttered, hunched over, her eyes clenched shut. Welf let out a grunt of agreement as he leaned his head back. Meanwhile, Bell leaned back at the wall as well as he looked at their teacher, performing drills with a one handed stick.

"Is there...an alternative…?"

Hearing his tired question, the man didn't even miss a beat as he kept on swinging.

"Meditation."

Groaning at his answer, the group sans Lili took a deep breath and focused back at the task. Lili chuckled a bit, but before she could go back to her training too, something in her eye corners caught her eye. Turning her head, her eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was, before waving her arm with a smile.

"Aiz. What's up?"

Hearing her name, Bell immediately shot up, trying to wipe as much sweat off as possible while the Sword Princess approached. Obsidian rolled his eyes with amusement before gesturing for the rest for the official break, before crossing his arms when Aiz stopped right in front of him. Their captain let out a strangled sound when the level six gave their teacher a once over, before tilting her head with a small frown.

"You look weird."

"What, because no cloak and bandages?" Obsidian asked, raising an eyebrow, before Aiz nodded calmly.

"I got used to it."

Chuckling, the man shook his head in amusement. With that, silence fell between them. It did not last long however, when their guest smiled at their teacher, causing the group sans Obsidian to clutch their chest at the rare occasion.

"I am glad you are giving her a second chance," she said softly and the man tensed up, before sighing, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I hate being angry all the time." A snort escaped him as he grinned towards the ground. "She really is trying, gotta give her that."

"That she does..." Aiz nodded, before blinking. Then, she turned towards the albino, who blushed when her eyes laid on him. "Speaking of which, Lord Hermes wanted something from Bell."

"M-me?" He asked, pointing at himself. She nodded, smiling a bit at his antics, which then again caused him to blush even more.

"Yes. But my aunt dissuaded him, saying that he was bad news."

Before anyone could ask, Obsidian stepped forward, raising his hand.

"What did she do?

Thoughtfully, the Sword Princess looked up.

/

The god gagged, his cowboy hat falling off, as a knee dug itself into his stomach. Before he could say anything else, his head was slightly raised, to face the pissed off girl holding him.

"Bitch! You listen to me!"

/

"I don't know. She didn't tell me." Aiz shrugged in the end, but her small smile was telling enough that she at least suspected something. Obsidian nodded with a hum before smiling as well.

"Guess you really missed her."

"We are family after all," she replied with a small giggle, causing Lili to take a deep breath to get her emotions under control. Considering the choking noises around her and the silent squeal, probably from Bell, she had the best poker face at the moment. Luckily Obsidian served well enough as a distraction as he raised his eyebrow at her.

"You're not mad she left again?"

"This time she is keeping in contact," she responded happily, causing him to tilt his head.

"How?"

"You."

Her simple reply and her pointed finger caused him to stare at her for a moment. In the end, he sighed and shook his head.

"She really needs to talk things through..." He took a deep breath before smiling at the Sword Princess, hands on his hips. "Sure, just give me a heads up."

"Thank you," she replied with a bow. For a moment, he stared at her, before his smile turned into a hungry grin.

"Wanna spar?"

Her head snapped up, eyes sparkling despite the neutral expression. Immediately, the students perked up, Lisa's hands on Bell's and Lili's shoulder as they leaned forward, with Welf's head right above her.

"Oh, this is going to be great."

Lili couldn't help but agree.

* * *

 **Decompression 13.2**

"So...I think this is the part where I should apologize."

Lili rolled her eyes, sitting to his left as he idly poked his plate and tugged at the collar of his white t-shirt. While the tables around them were somewhat busy, it was nothing compared to breakfast time. Because of that, they at least had some privacy as most Loki members minded their own business, ignoring the tense air at their own table. The source of it? Riveria, politely smiling at Obsidian in front of her, her hands folded. She tilted her head, causing those who paid attention to her, including Lisa and Welf, to gulp nervously.

"For what, dare I ask?" She asked airily and Obsidian nodded slowly.

"Please stop being passive aggressive, it is actually scaring me," he responded before pressing his lips together. Instead of being placated however, the woman simply closed her eyes, fake smile still in place.

"Whatever do you mean?"

Lili sighed when her father shrunk into his chair, lowering his head to avoid eye contact, while Riveria giggled at his reaction.

She couldn't exactly blame the executive for her behavior. Especially, she thought, considering what Obsidian did with Aiz. Glancing at her, she still winced at the bandages around her friend's arm.

Their fight was intense.

It started off reasonable. The two picked up their wooden swords and began to slowly exchange blows, speeding up to a quick paced, but still visible rhythm. However, the longer they did so, the more...energetic they became. At first Lili thought it was fine, considering that Aiz and Obsidian seemed to be the type of people that could really get into sparring and looked like they needed to let out a lot of steam.

Nevertheless, the moment they activated their magic, she knew that things would escalate rather quickly and wisely got herself and the others farther away than before. It was a wise decision, judging from the way her father used his Reinforcement to strengthen his wooden axe and Aiz pulled out Desperate after throwing away her practice weapon. Her judgment proved to be correct, when the two of them reeled their arms back and clashed with each other.

Their arms blurred and sparks appeared between them, as they quickly exchanged blows, their upper bodies leaning back, to the side, forward, dodging at the same time as they were attacking. However, their feet stayed where they were, as if their pride demanded from them not to move from their spot.

That was when his axe broke and the wood flew off into their direction. Lili saw it coming though, her body ready to dodge at any time, and she did so, swaying to the side like a snap. Sadly, by doing that she let Bell take the fall, as it crashed right into his head, splintering into tiny pieces and knocking him back down on the ground.

"Holy shit!"

Lisa, after letting out her yell, crouched down to Bell, seeing blood already seep from his head, and checked his pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief, they found out he was still alive. Still, how fast was that piece of wood flyin?

Of course, the two top class adventurers paid them no heed. Obsidian, having lost his weapon, didn't miss a beat and took advantage of Aiz' momentary lapse of attention, relaxing just for a single instance. Dashing forward, he ducked underneath her sword as she looked away for a moment and quickly went behind her. Just as she turned her head, eyes wide in shock, he grabbed her by the neck and hips, raised her, and rammed her down on his knee. She gagged, pain evident in her scream, before she was rudely dropped to the ground. As she bend in pain, Obsidian shot up and spread his arms out, bending back as his hands formed into claws.

"POOOOOWWWWWAAAAA-Oh."

Naturally they all gave him a flat look at his abrupt change in behavior, causing him to avert his eyes in embarrassment as he straightened up his back.

Lili took a deep breath at the memory and shook her head. So yeah, that's why Bell needed medical attention and had to be carried by him to the mansion, while Lili supported Aiz over her arm, walking rather awkwardly and stiff with her back more straight than usual. The potions helped both of them a bit, but it didn't fix everything.

Still, Aiz seemed better now, only moving a little bit staff. Better than Bell at least, who sat next to her and looked a bit dazed as she tried to bandage him despite his weak struggling. Naturally, that gathered a few mean glares, one of them being Lefiya. The Pallum had to lightly slap her head more than once to reign her in.

Still, that wasn't the only thing that Riveria had beef with Obsidian. The other one was arriving at their mansion with a hurt Bell and Aiz in the first place.

Without a shirt.

Suffice to say, much to Lili's suffering, he gathered quite a few looks. Some, she could stomach, if barely. Those were the shy ones or rather subtle ones. People like Lefiya, who only blushed and looked away or covered their eyes. At most, maybe peek between them, but that was it. Others on the other hand...not so much. They were much, much more open with their opinion about her father and way more vocal. Naturally, the amazons were the biggest examples, Tione and Tiona visibly ogling him, with the latter even making cat calls. Others swooned as well, or even drooled in appreciation. That was enough to get a gag reflex from her and judging glares at everyone.

Depending on how one would see it, she herself wasn't sure, Riveria luckily put a stop to all of this. Sadly, not in the way Lili hoped for.

First, a dark aura surrounded her as she gave everyone the coldest look the Pallum had ever experienced. She had the feeling even a stoic god would whimper at the face of such a condescending, displeased glare. However, it got worse in her eyes when the noble turned to Obsidian and then smiled innocently. Yet, the dark aura remained, making rather clear what she felt at the moment. Though there was something else mixed in that Lili couldn't place, but she had the feeling she didn't want to know anyway.

This went on for more than ten minutes, with Riveria's face basically glued to her father's direction.

At last, to Lili's relief, the high elf let out a sigh, dropping her mask, and gave Obsidian a glare as she crossed her arms and huffed.

"I cannot believe you."

The man in turn breathed out and relaxed, slumping down against his chair as the dark aura mostly vanished. Then, he chuckled and raised his hands in defense.

"Alright, I was a bit too excited to get back into it. Can you blame me?" He asked in a soft tone and Riveria's mouth twitched.

"No." However, she shook her head and closed her left eye, giving him an exasperated look. "It does not make your actions any more sensible."

"Fair enough," Obsidian said with a shrug, before leaning over the table, raising his eyebrow as he raised his voice. "You two okay over there?"

At his question, Aiz turned away from Bell, who slightly swayed on his chair, and smiled softly.

"I'm fine." A wince escaped her when she raised her arm and she rubbed her back, but still with a smile on her face. "As I said before, I'm not holding anything against you."

Obsidian raised his thumb at her and nodded. Well, at least she took the backbreaker rather well, Lili thought dryly. Riveria looked like she disagreed that he was forgiven that easily, biting her lip for a moment. But in the end, she just let out a sigh, keeping her eyes closed as she sipped on her tea. In the meantime, Lisa, who sat opposite to Bell, leaned onto the table as well, biting her lip with worry.

"Captain, your head still on?"

Being addressed directly now was apparently enough to get him out of his daze, at least enough for him to recognize the words and coherently respond. Somewhat. Rubbing against his bandages with a groan, he blinked before slowly nodding as he faced the ground.

"Yeah...yeah..." When Aiz gently put his hand down, to prevent him from reopening his wounds, he turned his head towards the group, ignoring the fact his crush was holding his hand. "How fast was it flying at me?"

"Not fast enough to ignite it," Obsidian replied and shrugging rather nonchalantly. At the judging looks he received, he raised his arms in defense as he sighed. "Look, I am sorry, but I made sure nothing lethal could happen."

"Somehow I doubt that," Riveria said dryly and the man scoffed in response as he rolled his eyes.

"Your problem, not mine."

Lili giggled at their antics, but blinked in confusion when she felt something poke her left leg. Looking down, she saw her father's hand touch it under the table. When she looked up to him, he motioned with his head back down and shifted on his seat, revealing something in his left hand.

"If you want to..." He muttered as her eyes went wide when she saw the papers in his grasp.

Adoption papers. Thick, black letters described all the legal stuff on it, her and his information, but only the words "adoption" stood out for her. She gulped, trying to keep a calm head as she let out a snort and gave him a watery smile.

"You seriously a-asking me that?" She whispered back, her voice breaking for a moment. The man nodded at her with a soft expression and ruffled her hair.

"Just making sure..." He said softly, before standing up, turning the papers around so that nobody could see what they were, and cleared his throat. Eyes turned, and Obsidian gestured for her to stand up again. With a blush, she did so, and awkwardly scratched her chin when people like Riveria or Lisa already gave her knowing smirks. "Well, since we are already all seated like this…I have an announcement to make."

Once he got their attention, he turned the papers aside, while putting his arm around her, pulling her closer to him with a wide grin.

"Allow me to introduce you to Liliruca Noir."

For a moment, complete silence reigned as they all stared at them with wide eyes. Lili on the other hand bit her lip, trying to distract herself from the emotions trying to break out in form of tears. Naturally, she failed the moment people started to clap and buried her face into Obsidian's chest. It took a while to stop crying and he patted the back of her head as he hugged her. Still, she calmed down eventually, as the people stopped clapping, cooing, or showed their congratulations in other way. Wiping her tears, she took a deep breath to calm down and sat back down on the chair. Lefiya awkwardly patted her on the back, even more tear falling than from Lili. Giggling lightly, she shook her head at her friend, before turning to face her father.

"Does this make me a princess?" She asked in a cheeky tone and Obsidian blinked, before humming in thought. Then, he shrugged, grin appearing on his face.

"I'm not exactly a king, but technically, yeah."

"Awesome," Lili replied with a giggle, before blinking and snapping her fingers at the high elf opposite of them. "Hey, that would make me equal to you, Riveria."

The woman in question stared at her for a moment, her expression completely blank. Lefiya on the other hand had no such self control. She let out a gasp, happiness for Lili forgotten. Then, she gave her a look of indignation and bristled up. However, before she could say anything, the noble chuckled, covering her mouth with one open, amused eye looking at her.

"I could teach you a thing or two if you join me on my level," she replied, warmth in her voice as she brushed her hair back. As the younger elf gaped at her teacher and her friend, Lili couldn't help but laugh loudly. Before she could get a word out however, Obsidian leaned forward, chin on his hand as he raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Doesn't that mean I'm technically above you?"

The daughter suppressed a shudder, already seeing where this was going and averted her eyes as Riveria let out a huff.

"Do you really require status to feel better about yourself?"

"Hey, I don't care about that. I'm a bottom guy myself, just wanted to clarify it."

The moment the words left his mouth, the table they sat at became deadly silent. Obsidian's mouth slammed shut like a door and he blushed as furious as Riveria did, as they both looked each other in their wide eyes. Lefiya meanwhile let out a silent scream, as her head turned between the two adults repeatedly. Meanwhile, Lili's face was frozen as her brain had to reboot after she snapped her head back to them.

Riveria bit her lip and nodded slowly, before forcing a strained smile on her red face.

"Let's just pretend you didn't say that."

"Agreed." Obsidian let out a deep breath as he rubbed his forehead, face still as red as the woman in front of her. "What the fuck..."

This was the moment her brain caught up and the Pallum covered her mouth as she retched, barely holding back the puke that was about to come out. Once she managed to prevent a sanitary disaster, she coughed, hitting her chest as she raised her head again, only to face the exasperated face of Obsidian staring at her.

"Come on, is it that disgusting?" He asked, almost offended. The elves as well gave her weird looks, but she ignored it as she glared at her parent.

" _Yes,_ " she hissed, before letting out a sigh as she slumped down on her seat, hunched over the table. "Little bit over the top, I know, but it's just freaky to me."

"Why is that?" Lefiya asked, tilting her head with curiosity and Lili sent her a dry look.

"You wanna hear innuendos involving your parents?" Immediately, she coughed as she blushed and averted her eyes nervously with an awkward giggle. "N-not that Riveria is my mother or anything. I mean, she is like a mother to everyone, but, y'know-"

"Enough."

The cold command made her lower her head, intimidated enough to not comment the fact they were blushing again as she looked down.

"Yes, ma'am," she replied meekly. Hearing Riveria sigh, she shuffled in her seat.

"I believe this is a topic for another time. For now..." She took a deep breath after an awkward pause and raised her voice after clearing her throat. "Aiz, would you please come over?"

The Sword Princess raised her head, blinking in confusion, before walking over to them. Not soon after, she sat down next to Riveria, who folded her hands at the small group around her.

"As you may know, the Goliath shall reappear tomorrow. We have decided that a small squad will take it down, to gather experience for the upcoming expedition. With only two exceptions, nobody shall be above level two."

The woman faced the ace directly and nodded at her with a serious expression.

"Aiz, you may only lead, not fight during this. We are counting on you." As the Sword Princess' eyes widened, Riveria turned to the other two girls in the vicinity. "Lefiya, Lili, follow her orders, even if they seem irrational. I will tell everyone else involved in this mission later."

While Lefiya nervously congratulated Aiz, who still had a shocked expression in place, Lili nodded with a wry grin. Well, on the one hand, the ace could need the experience. There could be never enough proper squad leaders in the lower floors and it would only benefit her. On the other hand...

"Does she have leading skills?" Obsidian whispered to her and the daughter shook her head with a sigh.  
"Nada."

"Ouch," he replied with a wince, but chuckled awkwardly all of a sudden. Following his gaze, she bit her lip, seeing that Aiz pouted at them.

"I can still hear you," she muttered, before huffing as she looked away. Scratching her right cheek, Lili lowered her head in apology.

"Sorry." She sighed and crossed her arms with a grin. "Well, I'm sure you'll do fine. You watched others often enough, right?"

Aiz smiled a bit when she turned back, before glancing at Lefiya, who nodded encouragingly as well. Lili leaned back relaxed. For her level, a Goliath should be rather easy for Aiz, as long as she focused on her surroundings. The best was, all Lili had to do herself was just be another part of the syste-

"Oh, you two will support her as sub leaders," Riveria added before standing up and moving towards the exit. The girls in question blinked, gave each other a look, before turning back to the noble's retreating back.

"Eh?"/"Say what now?"

* * *

 **Interlude: The Hero III**

Wiping some sweat off his brow, Bell paused for a moment as he dropped the sack he had carried over his shoulder. There were quite a lot of supplies he bought for the incoming expedition, but he believed it should be enough to contribute for the raid. Not that he could afford or carry anything more without hindering himself anyway. Unlike Lisa. Hopefully she wouldn't overdo it, he thought with a chuckle. He could already imagine her carrying twice the amount of what he got, having gotten it by half the price. And that would be only potions, since Welf was in charge of getting them the proper equipment for the mission, while Lili...

His smile fell and he bit his lip with worry. Would the girls really be fine with leading positions? He respected them a lot and trusted them, but it didn't mean that he thought they were perfect.

Well, at least now, in Aiz' case, he thought with a blush. They were skilled people, at least he assumed so with Lefiya, but were they good leaders? Lili at the least didn't have any experience leading people, because their team was, well, a team. Everyone was equal and they all decided to let Bell make the shots, for some reason. Even then, if they disagreed, they would tell him so. There was no real hiearchy among them. The elf didn't seem like a confident person in the first place and wouldn't have much experience either with her being a mage. And Aiz…He sighed. He did see how she was like in the expedition. She didn't lead at all.

Still, despite all those thoughts, he didn't feel fear for the upcoming event at all. After all, they were still valuable allies and in some way, friends. Bell nodded to himself with determination. All he could do was try his best and support them with all he got. All three of them. No time to doubt them.

"Hey, Minotaur Slayer!"

The jolly voice brought him out of his musings and he looked up. His eyes widened in recognition and he mimicked the wave the hooded person sent him as he approached him.

"Oh, Grim! Good to say you!" He greeted him and the man laughed, before putting his hands on his hips.

"Right back at ya! What'cha doing?" He asked Bell, tilting his head with curiosity as he gave him his sharp grin. In return, the rookie gestured towards the bag he was carrying with a smile.

"Just preparing."

Grim in return blinked in surprise.

"Wait, didn't you just come back from a mission?" At the surprised look he received, the man shrugged nonchalantly. "Word moves fast around here."

Bell hummed in thought. Well, people did see him come back with the Hermes family. Putting one and one together wouldn't be hard.

"True," he said, awkwardly scratching his right cheek. "Well, an adventurer can't rest on his laurels, right?"

He immediately regretted saying it, as he blushed at the cheesy line. However, if the man thought the same, he didn't show it, as he slapped his back playfully, laughing loudly.

"Hear, hear!" Throwing his arm around his neck, he gave Bell a grin as he raised an eyebrow. "Got some time to talk?"

The rookie blinked for a moment, before tapping his chin in thought. Well, carrying the bag around longer than necessary sounded a bit tiring. On the other hand, he wasn't in a hurry to return, and his family, former and current, always did say he needed more friends. With that in mind, he shrugged before he picked the sack of items back up and threw it over his shoulder.

"Well, I got what I needed, so why not?"

"Perfect! I know just the place!" Grim said excitedly, before he led the way for Bell. Under normal circumstances, the rookie would be a bit wary following a stranger. But seeing that they were in one of the less shadier places currently and he didn't have a bad feeling about this, he followed him with not a single complaint. It didn't take them long, to reach their destination. While he never entered this place, it was rather close to the Hostess in terms of appearance. Warm colors, jolly atmosphere, and lots of talk. As he followed Grim and navigated through the masses of waiters and patrons, he couldn't help but hear some tidbits here and there.

"Hey, did you hear about the red light district? Apparently stuff is getting heated for some reason."

"Heard that the Hermes family lost some people. Pity."

"You got one of those phones? Damn expensive, but I heard they're worth it."

"My buddy is taking Soma again. Rambles about talking birds at the port..."

Sitting down, the boy put the bag under the table, barely able to fit there, before thanking the waitress bringing him a water. Then, he turned to his host, who took a sip from his own drink and let out a satisfied breath as he gestured into the area with a grin.

"Gossip. The life blood of Orario." He blinked, before slapping his forehead playfully. "Oh, where are my manners..."

With that said, he took his hood off, revealing his entire head in all its glory. Bell couldn't help but widen his eyes as he saw how Grim actually looked like and blinked. He looked more similar to himself than he expected. The previosly hooded man scratched his white, shoulder long hair, messily tied up into a ponytail. With a few strands that covered his deep red eyes, it would be rather easy to mistake them as relatives. The man gave him a sharky grin as he saw the surprised realization on Bell's expression and laughed lightly as he pulled the hair back to free his vision.

"Surprised? Yeah, me too. Not often you see other albinos."

"Albino?" Bell asked, tilting his head and the man pointed at his hair and his eyes.

"Red eyes, white hair." He paused as he blinked his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. "At least I think that's what we're called." After he put his cup down, he clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Anyway, where is it going?"

Considering that the Loki family didn't issue a gag order over the expedition and the fact that it was common enough, Bell didn't see the harm in telling him. Scratching the back of his head, the captain chuckled.

"We're going to take down the Goliath for practice," he said nervously and bit his lip. "Would be my first time."

Grim in return let out a whistle as he crossed his arms.

"Nice. Always good to take down a Monster Rex." The man's smile faltered however and he lowered his gaze. "Though..."

At the hesitation, Bell raised an eyebrow as he took another sip and tilted his head as he lowered his drink.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, gotta warn you. It's just a rumor, but it won't hurt knowing about it." Grim took a deep breath and folded his hands with a serious expression. "There are apparently some...weird bugs buzzing around in the Middle Floors."

"Weird bugs?" Bell asked, not remembering any bugs the last time he went into the dungeon. To be fair, it had been a few days, but it did sound strange. At his worried expression, the man grinned at him with a shrug.

"Yeah, nothing too dangerous, but it's just that they only appeared recently." Grim twirled his right hand as he leaned forward. "Heard they got some paralyzing poison, but if you have Abnormal Resistance, it should be fine."

At the skill name, Bell slowly nodded his head before chuckling awkwardly.

"I...kinda...don't have it."

"Oh." Grim blinked dumbly at the rookie, before laughing as well and shrugging as he leaned back. "Well, better stock up on antidotes then."

After he grinned at the small jab for a moment, Bell scratched his chin in thought.

"So there are new monsters..." He muttered to himself.

"Rather small monsters. Head size at most," Grim explained, but then a frown appeared on his face. "But the numbers are a bit weird." At the questioning look he received, the rogue looking man nodded and decided to elaborate further. "Even with the rate monster appear in the dungeon, there had been more sightings than usual when it comes to this kind of stuff." The toothy smirk reappeared as he noticed that Bell's worry grew. "Just stay on your toes, minor changes cause bigger changes."

Despite the attempt of cheering him up, Bell couldn't help but look down with a deep frown. Considering what kept happening to him and the others because of the dungeon...He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out there was some major nest of insects or a hive mind like in books somewhere in the dungeon.

"Let's talk about something more fun, shall we?" The man tapped his chin in thought, before he then snapped his fingers with a smile. "How about...Any favorite adventurers?"

Almost immediately, the smiling face of a certain girl appeared in the front of his mind and his face turned crimson as he tried to hide behind his shoulders.

"A-a-a..." He stuttered, before hiding his face behind his arm on the table, averting his eyes with a silent scream. His face burned even more as Grim let out a small laugh and leaned back, arms crossed.

"No need to feel shy, I won't judge."

Shyly, Bell looked up, seeing his easy going expression, and took a deep breath. Well, he didn't seem to lie and wanted to genuinely know. Straightening up his back, he coughed awkwardly into his fist before looking away as he folded his hands.

"Aiz Wallenstein," he muttered. However, he furrowed his forehead when he glanced back at Grim, whose mouth thinned with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" After a small pause, he shrugged as he averted his eyes. "Well, I guess she is a common pick." Shaking his head, he put back on a smile and looked back at Bell. "Why?"

While the reaction was a little weird, the rookie decided to shrug it off. While she was popular, he could understand if not everyone liked her. Anyway...A faint blush appeared on his face again as he scratched his right cheek in thought. There were a lot of reasons for why Bell admired her. Appearance, voice, personality...But in the end, if he had to describe what drew him the most to her, in a way that wouldn't embarrass himself too much, it was rather simple.

"I...I guess she just represents what I want the most."

Grim slowly nodded at the quiet answer and tapped the table with his right hand.

"A hero, right?" He tilted his head in curiosity. "Why do you think she is the best example?"

Why was she the best example? Bell blinked at the question and hummed thoughtfully. It was understandable that others would want to know why her specifically. If it were skill alone, there were plenty of people that were on the same level or even better than her. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Ryuu, Ottar, Obsidian...All of them were powerful people, some even more charismatic than his idol. So why her?

It clicked to him, as he thought back to when his feelings for her were born. His eyes widened for a small moment, before he smiled softly as he lowered his head.

"She saved me. The way she did it..." He let out a sigh and looked back up to his host. "It was just how I wanted to be. Inspiring hope and reassurance with no words said and only my skill as I save them."

"Hm..." Grim scratched his chin with a raised eyebrow. In the end, he raised his hands in the air, a small smirk on his face as he leaned back. "Well, can't say she gives me the same impression, but hey, if it inspires you, it inspires you."

Bell let out a sigh of relief that the man didn't decided to tease him or mock him because of his beliefs. He had enough of that with literally anyone else in his life. He grinned a little as he imagined his family senior.

And Lisa said he was obvious with his crush on Aiz!

He shook his head, before it became too awkward, and he licked his lips in thought. Now that they talked about it, he felt a bit curious. With that in mind, he tilted his head with a smile.

"Do you have a favorite adventurer?"

"Nope."

The immediate answer caused him to freeze, his wide eyes staring at the albino in front of him who pursed his lips as he dusted off his right sleeve.

"Huh?" Bell let out dumbly and Grim sighed as he crossed his arms.

"It's just...none of them really grasp my heart, y'know what I'm saying?" He wiggled with his right hand, eyes slightly narrowed. "I mean, nothing personal, but they are just not...likeable. Don't really help me with my dream."

That was...a rather weird opinion, Bell thought with a frown. Not liking any adventurer? Even though there were really special people out there? It didn't sound right. Because of that, he readjusted his seat, before raising an eyebrow at him.

"What is your dream?"

Unlike him, Grim didn't even hesitate as a fond expression faced him.

"I want to have a story book adventure."

The rookie's eyes widened at the words. Didn't that sounds rather familiar? Chuckling at his expression, the man put his hands on the table as he shook his head in amusement.

"It's just...the world is sometimes really harsh. Cold. Boring even." He took a deep breath as he drummed with his fingers. "So...I guess I just wanna live out my fantasy of a good story. Emotional start, epic battles and satisfying ending." A deep sigh escaped him. "So far, doesn't feel like I'm too many chapters in yet. Guess being picky isn't helping either."

The boy slowly nodded in understanding. It was still weird, but at least now Bell understood his reasons. After all, what was a hero but a character in a story book? He could understand wanting something more imaginary to be realistic. Nodding, he smiled at Grim.

"I'm sure your life will be eventful, Grim."  
"Thanks, buddy," he grinned back, before clapping his hands together. "I shouldn't keep you here any longer, else your family will freak out or something."

Chuckling awkwardly, he looked down on the item bag under the table.

"Yeah, they would," he muttered, somewhat regretting not notifying them in advance. With a sigh, he stood up and started to drag the bag out. However, he stopped when he saw Grim raise his cup at him with a small smile.

"By the way, remember when I said I didn't have a favorite adventurer?"

"Yeah?" Bell asked with curiosity and Grim pointed at him with his drink.

"You're doing good work getting there." He then saluted to him. "See ya around, hero."

Blushing at the compliment, he waved back before he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the bar.

"I wonder what his definition of a good story is..." Bell muttered to himself after exiting, walked through the streets as he did so.

* * *

 **Decompression 13.3**

Honestly, considering this was her first time, Lili hadn't felt as nervous as she expected it to be when she had stood in front of fifteen people, most of them basically strangers, alongside Aiz and Lefiya. Actually, she was pretty sure she had been the calmest one of the trio. While the Sword Princess had a perfect poker face, she probably felt just like the elf had shown the group. Of course, that didn't change the fact she had still been feeling nervous as she had led them down to the dungeon, even if she hadn't done much on the first floor, something the newest could handle.

Luckily for her, all nervousness vanished the moment the Super Rookie luck kicked in and she had to get her game face on. What did she mean with that?

Naturally, they had to face a monster party when they arrived on the 17th floor, before the Goliath. The Pallum couldn't help but sigh as she oversaw the fight in front of her, arms crossed with Liberty in her right hand as a dagger.

This was just like with her level up. Only with fifteen people including herself instead of three. So that was arguably better. Though of course, the dungeon decided to compensate and made it a bigger than usual monster party, as usual as they were.

Cause the dungeon was a bitch. She clicked her tongue as she shot between two heads of her squad, lightning piercing the hell hound's head.

"Tighten up!" She yelled at the surprised faces, which turned into determination as they nodded and huddle up more closely with their shields. Lili nodded in satisfaction at the view. So far so good. Nobody was doing something stupid like running out alone into the masses. Nobody ran away like scaredy cats. And she didn't need to do any complex orders or stunts to save them. All in all, pretty good, she thought with a nod. Of course, not everyone shared her calmness at the situation.

"Left flank is falling. I should-"

"Stay right where you are! Remember what Riveria said?!" Lili barked back, already seeing Aiz starting up her magic and crouching slightly, ready to burst. The young woman blinked at the interruption, before straightening up.

"Oh." She looked around, slightly confused, before she stopped at a certain someone with a nod. Then, she raised her voice slightly, barely above her usual soft tone. "Bell, support the left flank."

It either spoke volumes of his focus or his obsession with her, but the Little Rabbit's ears twitched as he shot a Firebolt from his hand. Quickly, he turned around, running to the direction he had to go with only a small stutter and jumped into the fray with barely a sweat.

Speaking of sweat, Lili felt a small sense of pride that her team had more endurance than the rest. Already, she could see others' breath starting to become irregular, while Welf's and Lisa's remained perfectly steady. Not to be arrogant, but the Pallum knew that if she were to fight in the front properly and not overseeing from the back, she would be good stamina wise as well. At least all the running had a purpose, she thought with a dry chuckle.

Anyway, her thoughts were interrupted when the magic power behind her peaked and she turned her head slightly, to see Lefiya with five other mages ready to attack. The elf gulped nervously, but her features were focused despite it.

"O-okay, e-e-everyone! O-on my mark! Like I told you!" She took a deep breath before raising her voice. "We're ready!"

Aiz nodded to her, before facing the front again, raising Desperate and twisting the wind a bit to get everyone's attention as she sent out the order.

"Fall back, everyone!"

Almost immediately, they began to back off after one last, unified push led by Lili's yelling. With a gap between them now, it was Lefiya's turn as she rammed her staff into the ground.

"FIRE!"

Instinctively closing her eyes and covering her ears in advance, she couldn't help but laugh at the rumble of carnage that shook the dungeon. Moments later, she opened her eyes to see nothing but dust and fragments of monsters flying around.

To see everything exploded was always a sight to behold, Lili mused with a whistle. Then, she clapped with the others in celebration, high fiving her team as they approached her. Aiz on the other hand stood away from the group and nodded in satisfaction, before sheathing her sword.

"Let's mo-" She caught herself as she took another look at the party, some having to support each other or leaning against the wall. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she decided to change her initial decision. "Let's take a break."

Lili, having walked up to her, raised both of her thumbs with a grin.

"Very nice," she muttered, before licking her lips and nodding to herself when she thought of something as she looked at the tired faces of the adventurers. "Aiz, say something."

"Say what?" Aiz whispered back, blinking in confusion. Lili rolled her eyes and shrugged as she clicked her tongue.

"I don't know, something encouraging!" She hissed back and the Sword Princess pressed her lips together, forehead furrowed in thought. Then, it dawned on her as she hit her left palm with her fist and she took a step forward as she cleared her throat loudly. As everyone turned to her, she raised both of her thumbs stoically.

"Very nice."

Lili gaped at the blantant rip off of her earlier action, but she couldn't be really mad as she noticed the faces of everyone, especially Lefiya and Bell, brightening up exponentially. Shaking her head with an amused sigh, she crossed her arms at Aiz when she returned, eyes sparkling with pride in herself.

"You're lucky you're so damn endearing."

"Thanks?" Aiz replied, tilting her head, causing the Pallum to giggle. With that done, she decided to do some small talk as they took a rest, while Aiz decided to rip the walls apart to stop the monster spawning for a little bit. It didn't take long for her to pick and reach her target. Her roommate isolated herself from the group as she drank the mind potions, letting out a sigh as she sat on a rock. Coughing to get her attention, Lili leaned to the wall next to her, smiling at the elf who blinked in surprise.

"Hey, Lefiya. You okay?" She asked in a casual tone and Lefiya gave her a nervous smile as she put the potion down on the ground.

"K-kinda..." She lowered her head with a blush and scratched her right cheek. "I...never had to raise my voice like that."

The Pallum in return scoffed in amusement and shrugged.

"Me neither, you get used to it."

"Do...you think I'm doing fine?" Lefiya asked after a moment of hesitation and bit her lip in thought. Exhaling, Lili readjusted her position against the wall as she put her hands into her coat pockets with a shrug.

"Well, nobody said anything bad about us and nobody is dead yet, so I would say so," she joked a bit, but then raised an eyebrow when her friend looked down on the ground. "Why?"

"I...just feel like I'm not good enough," she replied after a moment of hesitation. A frail smile appeared on her face as she looked over to the Sword Princess, just being finished with the walls. "I mean, anyone could have known to aim at a specific spot at the same time. Aiz wouldn't need me here."

Sometimes the self esteem issue was a pain in the ass, Lili thought as she held back her urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she just frowned at the elf.

"As much as I always say that learning how to multitask is good, we can't let her get overwhelmed." She waved her hand dismissively with a scoff. "I mean, hell, if I didn't say anything, she would have just jumped in and that would ruin the purpose of this training trip." As Lefiya bit her lip, trying not to laugh, she smirked at her, crossing her arms. "Not to mention, you made sure that everyone was keeping up with the flow. Nobody too slow or too fast in casting as far as I could tell."

The elf nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked down.

"True," she stated quietly. Lili bit her lip, trying to think of another topic to distract Lefiya with. When it clicked to her, she giggled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head.

"Sorry I didn't ask before, but what have you been up to while Aiz and I were...y'know."

As she wiggled her hand, Lefiya blinked for a moment and tapped her lips in thought.

"Oh, uhm..." She blushed a bit as she touched the tips of her index fingers. "I made a new friend?"

For a moment, Lili had to process the words in her head. Then, her eyes widened in surprise, before she smiled as she clapped her hands.

"Really? Congratulations!"

The elf giggled, before recounting the events on the surface while the Pallum and her team had their "fun" down below. While they were gone, apparently the god Dionysus visited with the level 3 captain of his family, Filvis Challia. Only thing she knew about them was that the elf was a skillful mage knight, while her god wasn't really liked by Lady Loki. Though to be fair, who was liked in the god circle by Lady Loki?

Anyway, because of certain casualties caused by irregular monsters, Lord Dionysus had been discussing these matters with the goddess. At the same time, he basically sent his elf off to interact with Lefiya. As Lili expected, at first there was only awkward silence as they stood around, a short distance away from their deities.

Suffice to say, things had been really awkward for Lefiya. As much as she improved, the icy persona the guest had made all bad habits reappear at once. Still, she had tried her best, even when it had come to terrible topics like talking about the weather. Surprisingly, her stubborn attempts actually paid off and got a reaction from Filvis.

Just not in the way she had hoped for. While the guest recognized that Lefiya was a nice girl (good), she didn't want to interact with her(bad). When the mage pressed the issue, it had been revealed that Filvis didn't want her to suffer like she did. From there, Filvis decided to share her history, in order to scare Lefiya off. As in, how she got members of her group killed, and how that happened several times, until she was given the name "Banshee", a curse for any adventurer.

Lili couldn't help but let out a scoff as she heard that, crossing her arms at the same time.

"Well, doesn't that sound familiar," she said with a grin and Lefiya nodded, smiling as well.

"I thought so as well. I told her that another person with a similar history was someone I trusted and that he was a good person. That because of that, if someone like him can be a friend of Lady Riveria, that she definitely didn't deserve being treated like a curse." A small giggle escaped her as she blushed a little. "She then warmed up to me."

"Gotta introduce me to her someday," Lili commented, before letting her eyes wander around, frowning as she did so.

"Oh, I will! She is amazing! So beautiful and skilled...She even offered to-" Lefiya stopped, noticing the odd silence from her friend and tilted her head. "Lili?"

She shook her head with a sigh, before stepping away from the wall.

"Sorry. Just..." She gestured with her hand with a small smile. "Gotta talk with Aiz."

Lefiya blinked for a moment, before nodding dumbly, most likely recognizing her tense behavior.

"Oh. Alright."

With that said and done, Lili swiftly made her way, stepping past a few people resting on the ground. Approaching Aiz, she saw that the Sword Princess talked to Bell in a calm manner, while the latter was only moderately nervous. The Pallum had to raise an eyebrow at that, but she shrugged. Good for him, she supposed.

"Hey, Aiz, Bell," she said as she gave them a lazy wave. As they turned around, she crossed her arms with a frown. "Can you guys spare a minute?"

While the captain blinked for a moment, Aiz didn't hesitate as she nodded.

"Of course." She turned to Bell and tilted her head. "You don't mind, do you?"

He in turn shook his head, only blushing a little as he waved his hands in front of himself.

"It-it's fine! We can do this another time!"

"Hm." Aiz turned back to Lili and narrowed her eyes slightly in worry. "Everything alright?"

Lili in response shrugged.

"Well, mages need to replenish their mind a bit, but nothing walking can't fix. I send Lisa to check on the front liners." She paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes, internally hitting herself of being distracted that easily."Speaking of front..." Lili took a deep breath, deciding to breach the topic that had been on her mind for a while, turning to Bell as she crossed her arms. "Not seeing any bugs around. You sure there are any here?"

The captain of the Hestia family coughed awkwardly as he scratched his right cheek.

"Well, it was just a rumor, but I thought it wouldn't hurt?"

Despite his attempt of reassurance, she couldn't feel at ease. After all, rumors always had a basis somewhere and the dungeon didn't fulfill the quota of fucking her over yet. Still, Aiz didn't seem to share her worry as she raised a placating hand to her admirer.

"It's fine, Bell. Better to have the information that not have it." She smiled softly, causing Bell to avert his eyes with a blush. "Riveria always says that one can never prepare too much."

"'sides, if you hadn't said anything, I would." They all turned around as Lisa approached them, hands on her hips. Then, she threw her thumb over her shoulder. "I checked on the group, some of them are a bit tired, but they seem fine enough otherwise. We're ready to go."

Aiz nodded opened her mouth to say something, but then abruptly stopped. She snapped her head to the path ahead of them. She narrowed her eyes as her ears twitched. Lili bit her lip, as she also sharpened her ears in response. Welp, her bad feeling was justified once more apparently.

"Did you hear that?" Their leader asked quietly, causing the Hestia family to frown at her. However, the Pallum nodded slowly.

"I can hear it too. Sounds like...flesh being cut. Something hitting the ground." She gulped, sweat running down her skin. "And monster screams."

Well, that wasn't ominous at all, she thought dryly as the rest of their little circle frowned at the information. Aiz bit her lip, glancing towards the source of the sounds, then back to the group. Her hand reached for Desperate, before she stopped short of touching it. A sigh escaped her as she let her arm fall and glanced to Bell with a serious expression.

"Bell, please take your team and scout ahead."

He only hesitated for a moment, before saluting and running off, into Welf's direction as he repaired their weapons. Lili shared a look with her female teammate and shook her head in exasperation as the merchant giggled and tapped her shoulder a few times before moving away as well.

"We call you if something happens," Lili said, pulling out the item with a frown. "Let's hope this thing works..."

Honestly, she wasn't sure what to think about the fact that she was the first one to get a phone. While she could see the use, she wasn't comfortable with testing equipment she never used before. Especially in a situation like this. Still, she was a professional, so when her team was ready, they went off without much of a wuss.

It didn't take them long, relatively, as it took a good half an hour to navigate through the corridors. Already, she noticed something off, considering the fact that no monsters appeared at all when they came closer and closer to the Big Wall of Grief, the spawning point of the Goliath.

When they finally came close enough, Lili couldn't help but click her tongue in annoyance at the scene in front of her. A battlefield, just a little away from the actual wall, with cuts and destruction everywhere.

Okay, now the dungeon was just being obvious.

"Whew. Some group went crazy here," Lisa said with a raised eyebrow. At the same time, Welf leaned down, looking at a certain cut mark, before looking at the wall, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Don't think so." He ran his hand over the destruction. "Unless somebody decided to solo it, the quantity isn't right. One type of blade, the rest are probably from the Goliath."

"This looks...melted?" Bell muttered and the others snapped their neck towards him in surprise. He stepped back, revealing indeed a rock, melting from a green liquid. Their captain took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Hestia Knife. "Be on guard."

He didn't have to tell them twice, as they went back into formation, Lisa and Welf in the front, and slowly advanced. After all, whatever monster did this, and all signs pointed towards it was one, could be dangerous. Given how tense she was, it was no surprise that she jumped, almost screaming in surprise, when her pocket vibrated. The others were startled as well, but let out a sigh of relief when she pulled out the phone and fiddled around with it, part in confusion and frustration, before pressing the right button and putting it next to her ear.

"Lili, are you there?" Aiz' voice asked, the static and echoing making it a bit difficult to understand. Covering her mouth, Lili nodded.

"Yeah, I'm here," she whispered, giving the area a look over again. "Looks like the battle is already over, but whatever happened here was pretty crazy. Anyway, we think it was one or more mo-"

She stopped, eyes going wide when she heard the noise. Wet, slurping sounds, followed by crunching.

Eating noises.

"Wait a moment," she hissed back, before looking back to the others. Bell motioned for them to move on and they slowly approached the next corner. Having arrived there, they peeked around it.

Then they saw the source of the sounds.

Lili felt the color leave her face. She didn't even need to look at their faces to know that they had the same expression she had. Wide eyed shock. She almost dropped the phone, but instead deactivated it almost immediately. She gulped as the team got their barrings together and dove back behind the corner, backs pressed against the wall. Taking a deep breath, she shared a look with Lisa, who nodded at the same time as she did with a pale expression.

That was not a Goliath. Or a small bug.

* * *

 **Decompression 13.4**

She had seen many monsters in her time with the dungeon. Ranging from small ugly gremlins like Goblins, to dirty Hellhounds, to the damn Violas and the weird acid caterpillars. All of them managed to call up varied levels of disgust from Lili, whether from their abilities, their appearance or the appearance of their abilities.

But this? This was by far one of the more disgusting ones.

For one, it was a bug, so minus points there in terms of aesthetics. Hunched over with its shrimp like main body, the monster used its circle of a teeth mouth to chip away at the Goliath's crystal. Its four wings on its back, creating a cross form, twitched occasionally, extending out from a silver, metallic carapace that was surrounding almost all of its body, with its mouth, deep red, bug eyes and wings being the exception. From what little skin she saw underneath its armor, it appeared to be brown in color. Even where arms were usually supposed to be, it had long, inorganic metal scythe like blades. They were not "unsheathed" so to say, instead kept close to its body. She suspected if it weren't using its wings for some reason, it would use those blades, given the lack of any legs or their equivalents.

It would probably not be so disgusting in Lili's eyes, were it not for the mess this thing was making. Slurping and drooling over the corpse of the Goliath, as it absorbed the crystal fluids through its mouth. Said drool being the green acid they saw before, which melted the crystal and mixed with its remnants into an abomination of a cocktail.

Suffice to say, the group shared a look and nodded to each other with a grim expression.

Hell no to that. There was no way they were gonna fight this with only the four of them, given how the evidence pointed at that thing having beaten the Goliath singlehandedly. Something usually reserved to at least a level 5. With that in mind, they carefully retreated their steps, making sure to be as quiet as possible as they did so.

To her surprise, it didn't react to their movements, quiet as they were. At least she thought so, considering the eating noises didn't stop for a single moment and didn't appear around the corner to kill them. Still, as they moved away, the tension was a burden on them, mentally and physically, as they walked half as fast as they did on the way to the wall. Any moment they expected the noises to stop and fluttering wings to sound against the walls instead.

At the very least no monsters appeared, as if not wanting to bother the insect. Whatever the reason, Lili appreciated it. On the other hand, her paranoia added to the pressure she felt and by the time they arrived back to the makeshift camp, they were sweating buckets and almost fell flat on their faces from the sheer exhaustion.

"Are you alright?!" Lefiya asked for everyone, walking towards them with worry. The Pallum waved her and everyone's concerns off as she sat down on the ground.

"What happened? You didn't respond anymore," Aiz said, the small frown the only indication of the turmoil inside of her. Lili couldn't help but smile weakly at her. She was grateful the Sword Princess didn't rush here and leave the group behind, possibly defenseless the moment she stopped contact. Still, she nodded slowly as she was catching her breath. Then, she threw her thumb over her shoulder and shook her head.

"We really need to leave."

/

"Then we fucked off as fast as we could," Lili finished the report in the office of her goddess. Said goddess hummed in thought with crossed arms as she sat at her office table. Then, she looked to the two people to her left, Lefiya and Aiz, who nodded in confirmation. Following that, she hummed again, louder this time, before tilting her head to the high elf to her right side. Riveria tapped her chin, contemplating the situation. However, it was another person that broke the silence. To the executive's right, Obsidian let out a whistle, wearing a grey hoodie, as he looked at his daughter with his hands on his hips.

"I'm surprised you managed to walk away just like that."

She in return snorted in dry amusement and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, surprised me too." She shuddered at the memory. "I really thought we were gonna have to fight."  
"I suppose it's a focused eater?" Lefiya added, uncertainty in her voice and Lili shrugged. It might as well had been.

"Any idea what it could do?" Loki asked, unusually serious for once as she frowned at her child. The Pallum sighed, leaning back on her chair as she closed her eyes and brought up all the information she had about the monster and the battlefield it fought in. After humming for a while, she opened her eyes again and crossed her legs.

"Probably uses acid to soften it up before cutting it with those blades. Probably knows how to use both optimally." She licked her lips and nodded slowly. "It's also either faster than a Goliath or tough enough to take its attacks with no issue, since it didn't seem to have any injuries."

"Or it has a healing factor." When everyone turned to Obsidian, he shrugged. "What? It's certainly possible." He paused and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Or a combination of all of them. Would be a real pain if it were the case."

"You sound like you have experience with them," Riveria asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He in turn chuckled dryly and shook his head with crossed arms, before grinning smugly at her.

"Oh, you have no idea."

The high elf blinked for a moment, before politely coughing into her fist with closed eyes. When she opened them again, she folded her hands behind her back with a professional expression.

"We have to assemble a proper strike force to take it down before it can hurt anyone else."

Loki looked at her executive for a moment, having a weird look on her face. Before Lili could identify it, she shrugged as she crossed her arms behind the back of her head.

"Eh, the guild is gonna decide who gets the mission, but I bet my ass it's gonna be us. First comes first serves after all."

Also, the other families like Hermes and Ganesha already had some form of casualties, the Pallum thought dryly, but she knew better than say it out loud. However, she noticed how Obsidian scratched his chin in thought. Because of that, she narrowed her eyes in worry.

"Something wrong, dad?" She asked, causing him to shake his head.

"Hm..It's just..." He twirled with his right hand. "That thing really sounds like a buffed version of a monster I once killed. Mine didn't have acid though, just paralyzing agents. Also, no metal."

Everyone in the room blinked at that. That sounded like…really important information to share. Riveria frowned at him and crossed her arms.

"Is there something we should know?" She asked the question everyone was thinking. In response, he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Eh, I might be wrong. Maybe it respawned here somehow and evolved. Maybe not. I have to see it first to make a call."

The women in the room shared a look after a period of silence.

Fair enough.

With that said and done, the executive let out a disappointed sigh as she glanced at the Sword Princess.

"So much for Aiz getting experience..." She muttered, causing the trio of girls to lower their head in disappointment. While not all of them were overly excited for this mission, they appreciated it nonetheless. It being taken away from them at least gave Lili a bitter taste.

"They can always go Shadow of the Colossus next time," Obsidian said to Riveria. Then, he grinned at them as he shrugged. "'sides, this bug thingie sounds like good practice."

Lili rolled her eyes while the others smiled lightly. Yet again, those weird references nobody would ge-

"Is this "Shadow of the Colossus" something from the dimension you are from?" Aiz spoke up, for the first time in this conversation, smile disappearing as it got replaced by a look of curiosity while she tilted her head.

Slowly, everyone turned to her, dead silent as they had blank looks on their faces, trying to comprehend what she just said. While all of them didn't even move a muscle, the Sword Princess blinked at them, as if she didn't realize what she was saying was a big deal. After all, she just insinuated that Lili's father was some sort of...alien? At least she thought that was the proper term.

Anyway, Obsidian was the first to move, crossing his arms at her as he stepped forward.

"Okay, when and how?" He asked at last, tone completely flat. The others snapped their heads towards him, eyes widening.

The dimension thing was actually true?! As they had to process that thought collectively, Aiz folded her hands, ignoring the others in favor of Obsidian.

"Auntie told me," she replied, a small smile appearing on her face at the memory.

"Talk about making up for lost time..." He muttered, before shaking his head in exasperation as he put his hands on his hips. "How much does she spoil you?"

"She does not spoil me."

At her pout, he raised an eyebrow.

"So she did not buy you those mushy potatoes and covered all of your expenses for the next year?"

"They are not mush-" She stopped herself, her eyes widening. Then, she lowered her head, a small blush appearing on her face. This was enough to shake everyone else from their constant state of shock, Loki being the first as she blinked a few times. Then, she crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes at Obsidian.

"So, another dimension?"

Contrary to their belief, he didn't seem to mind the question at all. Hell, he even seemed indifferent about it, as he shrugged.

"Prefer to talk about this when my sister arrives. She's better with the brain babble," he explained while waving his right hand. "Suffice to say, it doesn't really matter too much. Aside from some knowledge we got, but that's it."

While Loki and the elves looked at him with narrowed eyes, certainly skeptical over his words, Lili had no such problems. After all, she knew how he looked like when he tried to hide something. He didn't keep eye contact for too long or became a blank mask. Instead, he wore his emotions just like he did every other day. Nodding, she decided to trust him on that. With that in mind, she grinned as she crossed her arms at him.

"I knew you were a cheater."

"Everyone is a cheater one way or another," he snarked back, similar grin on his face. This managed to put the others on ease at least a little. Riveria sighed, before turning to Obsidian with a small frown.

"Can you get in contact with her?"

"As a matter of fact, I can," he replied, snapping her fingers at her. Then, he glanced at the goddess in the room and pointed at himself. "You want me to do it now?"

"Well, we could get Finn and Gareth first..." She trailed off, before snorting dismissively and waving her hand. "Nah, just do it."

Nodding, Obsidian crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. After a small period of silence, the women in the room gave each other confused looks. Lefiya shyly raised her hand when nobody said anything.

"Are you-"

Raising his hand, he interrupted her, frowning slightly.

"I'm on hold, wait-" His eyes widened and his smiled widely as he perked up. "Aha! Hey, sis, whazzup?"

It was this moment that Lili realized how awkward it was going to be to see Obsidian communicate with his family this way. Why? Well, she wasn't hearing a single word, yet her father nodded and hummed, as if he responded to something only he heard. Which was probably the case. Anyway, he took a deep breath as he spread his arms out, shaking his head a little.

"Eh, still think I'm behind the curve. Can't exactly throw myself at monsters and not 'safe spaces' to spar with others so to say. Regulations and all that too. How are the projects doing?" He nodded with a relaxed grin. "Uhuh. Uhuh."

By now, Riveria had enough of this and politely coughed into her fist, receiving a glance from Obsidian by doing so.

"Obsidian, please," she asked in a quiet tone. Obsidian pressed his lips together, as if only realizing now that he wasn't alone in the room and pointed at her with a nod.

"Right." He looked up at the ceiling, putting his smile back on. "Anywho, I wasn't just calling for this." A small pause later and he rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh shut up, you know I love you."

While Lili wanted to coo a little at hearing how good his relationship was with his family member, she couldn't do it as she was distracted by something.

Riveria's killing intent, to be exact. Everyone in the room, sans Obsidian, tensed up as the high elf ever so slightly narrowed her eyes and dug her fingers into her crossed arms. For some reason, he didn't notice it at all, instead laughing lightly at whatever he was heairng. Maybe that was why, as fast as it came, Riveria's bad mouth disappeared with only a sigh from her, letting everyone else relax and not fear a magical explosion going off in this room.

"I kinda need you on speaker. Lots of stuff to discuss," Obsidian continued on as he twirled his right hand. "Well, there is a bug that I might or might not have killed and respawned in the dungeon. Let a reference slip and Aiz knows about our schtick from Gaia." He blinked in confusion before scratching the back of his head. "Huh, so she is there. That's kinda fast." After nodding a few times, he winced before licking his lips in discomfort. "Yeesh, I kind of expected that from her, but still. Gaia still okay?

The Sword Princess in response shot up, expression filled with worry. Obsidian, this time noticing what was going on around him, immediately raised his hands and waved at her a few times, trying to calm her down. While he was doing so, he looked back up again, focusing on the conversation.

"Oh, good. Just a few bruises," he sighed out, causing Aiz to do the same as she slumped back on her chair. Lefiya weakly smiled at her, while Lili rubbed her back to comfort her. In the meantime, Obsidian let out an impressed grunt as he crossed his arms again. "They good? Well, Shino always was pretty simple."

"Stop getting side tracked!" Loki hissed all of a sudden, her hands on the table as she glared at him impatiently. He chuckled awkwardly and lowered his head a little.

"Sorry." Raising his head again, he took a deep breath. "Back on track, kinda need you on speaker here, to make the big reveal and all that."

However, after nodding a few times, his smile slowly fell. His easy going demeanor disappeared as he narrowed his eyes, almost in incomprehension.

"What do you mean you're gonna do it personally? It's gonna take a while until you-"

He stopped and blinked a few times. Then, he pushed himself off the wall suddenly.

"YOU WHAT?!"

Everyone jumped at his sudden increase of volume, as he spread his arms out, slightly bend, as he stared into the air in disbelief. Then, his expression changed to one of indignation.

"Don't you dare-" His mouth closed in incredible speeds. It surprised Lili that it didn't cause a crashing sound. Instead, he took a deep breath, before looking around into the room, mouth thin as his eyes screamed fury while he sucked in air through his nose. "She hung up on me."

An awkward silence hung in the air, nobody really sure what to say to that. He could just call again, the daughter thought, but she wasn't sure if that was the right course of action. Surprisingly, it was Lefiya who slowly raised her hand, biting her lip shyly.

"U-uhm...what about the explanation?" She asked. A "meep" escaped her when Obsidian snapped his head towards her. However, instead of saying anything to her specifically, he cracked his neck before pointing at the door. His left hand in the meantime tugged at his collar a few times, as if trying to cool his emotions down.

"Let's go to the guild," he said in a flat tone, already marching towards the door. Immediately, Loki rose from her chair, tilting her head in confusion.

"Hold on a second, I feel like I'm missing something here. Why?"

Obsidian stopped at the door, hand on the knob. He turned his head slightly towards them, a look filled with exasperation direct at them.

"Because she's there," he said in a flat tone.


	14. Chapter 14

**Exodus 14.1**

As she stood behind Obsidian, as the latter filed some paperwork at the guild's desk with quiet grumbling, Lili still had to process the entire situation, lips pressed together.

Right after he left the room, the girls at first were busy processing the information that he just threw at them. How was his family member here? How did he not know about it? There was always the chance that Luciel sneaked in without telling him, Lili had admitted to herself, but it felt like doing the former was...rather wasteful in terms of time and resources. Not to mention, why was the woman at the Guild out of all places. From what she had heard, Obsidian should have already filed all the paperwork to allow his family members to get in. She had remembered his ramblings over how annoying it was to prep for something that was supposed to be far in the future.

A lot of questions, that could have only been answered by doing what he had said.

To her surprise however, Loki had decided to not follow him. Instead, she had turned to Lili with a flat look, telling her to follow her father and make sure that the next day, Luciel would be ready to answer their questions. When Lili had asked why, the goddess only pointed out at the window. Having seen the sun setting, the Pallum nodded in understanding and said goodbye to the others rather abruptly in order to catch up.

When she finally caught up, Obsidian didn't explain anything, ignoring all of her questions as he had marched towards the guild. While she had been pouting a little bit because of that treatment, they had stepped into the building and met up with one of the workers. The elf then had explained what had happened. Thinking over it again, it...sounded just as crazy as when she first heard about it. She narrowed her eyes at her father's back.

Obsidian had to file and pay for the paperwork that was labeled "Damage caused by skyfall". Which would insinuate that his family member dropped from the sky and fell hard enough to damage the ground. It was possible that the mage of the Gaia Family created a levitation or even flying spell. That she did not deny. However...The question was why. Why be so over the top? Why not just enter Orario through the gates, like a normal person?

Her father clapped his hands together, causing the girl to snap out of her musings. As he rubbed his hands, the worker gestured for them to follow her into a hallway which led into the back of the building. A little while later they came to a stop in front of a door.

"She is in here." Her smile fell and the guild member sent them a flat look. "Please take her already."

Lili bit her lip as she looked after the back of the guild member. Well, that didn't sound ominous at all. How bad was her adopted aunt? She hoped for the best, but it didn't change the worrying expression in her face as her father opened the door before entered the room, with Lili right behind him.

It was rather small, barely enough room to walk around the table in the middle of it. While there were lights that reflect from the brown wood, it didn't have a relaxing atmosphere. It felt more like an interrogation room, which it probably was. Lili scratched her right arm as she narrowed her eyes at the room. What kind of things could be done in here? Her mind flashed back to the Soma Family, causing her to press her eyes together and letting out a sharp breath. No, the guild couldn't be that corrupt. Else the entire system would break down.

Trying to distract herself, she decided to look at the person they were meant to meet. The Pallum blinked when she laid eyes on that individual.

The most stereotypical looking witch she could ever possibly imagine. Well, almost. The robes weren't present, a coat and jeans in its place. But the staff against the table and the large wizard hat was enough to fulfill all the other cliches. The person who she assumed was Luciel had her hands folded as she grinned cheekily at the new incomers, with a large bag behind her. She nodded politely at the girls, but then focused her attention on Obsidian, who crossed his arms with a smirk. Seeing him, she tipped her large hat with a giggle.

"Lawyers these days really became ugly," she said, raising a skeptical eyebrow as she twirled her right brown twin tail around her left index finger.

"Clients these days really became retarded," he countered immediately, letting out a scoff. The two of them stared at each other for a short moment, before they chuckled at the same time. Then, Luciel stood up, walked around the table and spread her arms out. When he hesitated, she motioned with her fingers to come at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Was stehst du da so rum? Komm in meine Arme, Bruder!"

Lili's face turned blank as she stared at them. Again? Freaking again? She didn't understand a damn word again, just like that time Lisa informed them about Bell. At least this time it wasn't anything serious, instead only greetings, she assumed. So she wasn't as peeved as she thought she would. With that in mind, she crossed her arms.

Anyway, Obsidian rolled his eyes, before spreading his arms as well and throwing them around her sister, who did the same to him. They patted each others back as they leaned into the hug.

"Hab dich vermisst. Alles okay?" He asked in quiet voice. While she couldn't see his back, Lili assumed he was more relaxed than he ever was in his sister's hold. The sight made her smile weakly. After all, anything that could make him so happy and peaceful could only cheer her up as well. While she liked being the cause, just seeing it was enough for her as well. Not to mention, something about family reunions resonated with her, when she heard or read about it. Maybe it was her parents' death, making it so that a reunion with them was impossible. Maybe it was because it awoke memories of her 'reunion" with Obsidian, when he left for a moment. Whatever the reason, it always managed to get a tear out of her. Said tear was quickly wiped away, and she took a deep breath, in order to not interrupt them with any potential crying.

Anyway, Luciel nodded with a soft smile, swinging her body a little bit left and right by her hip, movements that he was happy to follow.

"Ja, alles gut." She let out a satisfied sigh as she pressed her arms harder against his back, her expression turning more mischievous. "Ah, du bist immer noch gut in Umarmungen." Leaning into him, she sniffed at him and hummed. "Guter Geruch." She removed her head and tilted it in curiosity. "Orario?"

He opened his mouth, but he stiffened up when his sister's hands moved down. Following them, Lili immediately snapped her head away, trying not to throw up as the mood that filled the room and she had before was completely erased with a single action.

Why in the hell was she groping her father's ass?!

Apparently it was a common occurrence, to her horror, because Obsidian only let out a deep sigh at the ruined atmosphere.

"Luci, hör auf meinen Arsch zu begrabschen," he said in a flat tone. The shuffling stopped at his words, and Lili carefully opened her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the hands off his bottom. She didn't want to be a killjoy, but if that had gone on, she would have stepped in. Literally. With Liberty in hand, family or not. Her frail, innocent mind could not handle the terrible pictures forced on it.

Luciel meanwhile, as if offended by his words, narrowed her eyes at him in an incredulous manner. Then, she puffed up her cheeks and leaned back into the hug.

"Aber es ist so ein wobbliger Arsch," she responded in a whine. Then she started to lightly slap his ass, as if to prove a point of whatever she was saying. At the sight, Lili immediately turned away again, covering her face as she clenched her eyes shut. Here she expected the weird bug monster to give her nightmares. But no, it had to be weird family shenanigans instead. She already dreaded how her life was going to turn out to be. Embarrassing moments all the time and hearing a language she never head of. Them speaking in another language made her feel excluded and she could only imagine how awkward it was going to be for her if she didn't learn it in the near future.

"Nyoh!"

Lili blinked and removed her hands from her face as she raised an eyebrow at the...really weird sound somebody made, followed by Luciel letting out a yelp. She turned her head slightly in order to see what caused those noises, hoping she would not regret that action. That sight destroyed any hope she had left in an instant.

At least it wasn't disgusting, she thought dryly. Instead, it was bizarre. The two of them stood in front of each other, a small gap between them. Their smiles were completely gone, replaced by focused frowns they directed at each other, with their hands raised and readied for...something.

A normal person would have tensed up a bit and take a step back, but Lili made no such movements, instead tilting her head with an incredulous expression. What the hell were they doing? With only their index fingers uncurled and tensed, this was not a combat stance. She knew how Obsidian would fight unarmed and having so many crooks in his stance so to say, with his left arm next to his head and his right arm in his front, meant that this was not serious. At all. Not to mention it would not fit with how he always talked about his family member, much less his interactions just now.

Just as she opened her mouth to end this charade, the two of them suddenly moved forward.

"Nyoh!" Obsidian shouted out, apparently _again_ , in an uncharacteristically childish tone, as he jabbed his finger into her sides. Luciel made the same movement, letting out a 'Nyah!' instead though. They flinched away at the same time, but then continued their assault against each other, letting out the same noises giddy smiles as they rapid poked each other.

Good thing her hero image of her father was ruined way before this crazy event, because this would have done the trick just as easily. Probably causing far more mental damage to Lili as she did now.

Still, bad was still bad. With a flushed face, she covered her face, before glancing at the door, hoping to the gods that at the very least nobody could hear or see this from somewhere.

Oh, who was she kidding. With her luck, that was probably the case. All she could do was accept her fate. The despair that followed by that realization colored her voice as she attempted to stop this insanity.

"My gods, dad!" She yelled, her voice cracking. A teary eye peeked through her finger gaps. "You're embarrassing me!"

The two adults froze at her words and turned to her with wide eyes. They probably only remembered that she was there now, causing Lili to puff up her cheeks, hands still on her face. Those assholes!

At least, to her eternal gratitude to whatever deity was listening, Obsidian managed to show some self respect as he blinked for a moment, before scratching the back of his head with a flushed expression.

"Ah, sorry. Got...caught up in this," he said in an awkward tone, coughing into his left fist. The woman on the other hand clicked her tongue and slapped him over his head, face a little red as well.

"Why didn't you tell me there was someone!?" She huffed, putting her hands on her hip as Obsidiain kept his head low in shame. Then, the mage readjusted her hat and turned to Lili, embarrassed smile as she extended her hand. "Geez, how rude of me. Luciel Lightbringer, you must be the newest addition to the family."

Nodding with a flat look, Lili grabbed the hand.

"Liliruca Noir. I would like to say 'pleasure to meet you', but...Yeah," she finished lamely, pressing her lips together with a disappointed look in her face. Luciel winced at that as they let go and pointed at her chest with closed eyes.

"That hurt right here." Letting out a sigh, she smiled softly when she opened her eyes. "Let's hope I can fix that first impression."

Lili bit her lip at that. Great, now she felt bad. Eccentric or not, this was someone her father cherished enough to call sister. Someone who was basically part of her family now. Acting like a child was a mistake, she thought with a sigh. With that in mind, she turned around before opening the door and glancing at them, a small grin on her face.

"Let's get outta here."

The the adults brightened up at her unspoken forgiveness for their antics. Her heart felt a lot lighter seeing this, knowing she wasn't as bad as she thought she could be, if she managed to make her father grin at her like this. The two of them hurried after her, Luciel with her bag casually slung over her right shoulder, before slowing down next to her as they exited the guild. Outside, the sun was almost gone already, the lambs' monster crystals activated to radiate the streets. By now, only a few stalls were open now, but there were still plenty of people on the streets, whether on their way home or just enjoying an evening stroll, alone or with each other.

Speaking of each other, she thought as she looked at a few couples passing by, before glancing at her family next to her, as they walked towards Obsidian's house. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the fact that they were holding hands as they silently enjoyed each others' company. Luciel let out an occasional 'ooohh' as she pointed at something, causing Obsidian to chuckle at her reaction. Lili realized how that looked like and bit her lip. While there was a bit of disgust welling up, there was also worry. After all, she knew what their relationship was, but others wouldn't. There could be...misunderstandings, she was sure of it. However, they should know as well, and they didn't seem to mind at all. It was probably an intimate gesture for each other, and they would be damned to give it up just for appearance.

At least that's what Lili thought. She sighed before shaking her head. Alright, she was going to let them have that at least. They could always correct people themselves if it became a problem.

"How did you get here anyway?" Obsidian suddenly asked and Lili perked up, tilting her head in curiosity as the man glanced at his family member. Said family member shrugged nonchalantly before glancing back.

"Birbs."

"Birbs?" He asked at her, glancing at the sky for a moment, before looking back at her. She in turn nodded, face staring straight ahead.

"Birbs."

"Birbs," he confirmed again, nodding to himself before looking back forward again. Lili tried to ignore how weird the one word communication was, and instead scratched her chin as she looked down on the ground as they walked. So, what did birb mean? Well, obviously it meant bird, that's how Obsidian occasionally called especially cute or fat birds for whatever reason. Which meant, if she was interpreting this right, they had some sort of bird monster species tamed for transportation purposes. Lili removed her hand and frowned as she crossed her arms. For some reason, it kind of...disappointed. She expected something more extravagant, after the phone, laser gun and co. Like a flying machine, or some sort of teleportation magic, like in other books. Hell, she would have accepted her running all the way to Orario and jumping high, if it was going to meet her expectations.

Though it did make her wonder, she thought as she tilted her head. What kind of bird species did they tame? It had to be able to carry a person, so at least human sized. But considering how far away Boundary was supposed to be, it had to be either enduring or fast. Preferably both. If those standards were met, it sounded like a pretty strong monster. Level four at least, if her theory was correct.

She put her hands on her hips, licking her lips. Level four monsters outside of the dungeon. The thought was still too bizarre for her. How did they feed themselves, grow stronger? The dungeon wasn't providing them with the needs. Were there just enough monsters running around that they could feed on each other? Did they eat enough...non-monsters to fuel themselves? Or was it the land itself?

"Ey, Lili."

The Pallum jumped a little, before blinking in confusion as she looked around. With embarrassment, she realized that she stood in front of their house, Luciel having already entered the building as she whistled to some tune. Obsidian meanwhile held the door open, raising an eyebrow at her as he pointed into the building. Coughing with a blush, she hurried inside before the door was closed behind her. However, she managed to calm down quickly, before focusing on a problem she hadn't thought before. She frowned at their house guest, who dumped the big bag into a corner of the kitchen and dining area. Turning around, the woman noticed Lili's stare and tilted her head with an innocent expression.

"So, where will you sleep?" She pointed to the two rooms to her right. "We don't have a guest bedroom."

Luciel blinked, as well as Obsidian as he walked past her and leaned against the doorway that connected the two doors of their bedroom. The latter threw his thumb over his right shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"In my bedroom, where else?"

Lili's mouth thinned. Okay, maybe she should have expected this by now, but how damn close were these two?! That went beyond just simple siblings! At least she thought so. The Pallum thought, looking down at the ground. She hadn't seen the Hiryute twins acting like that at least, and they were close. On the other hand...they also had different personalities, unlike the two weirdos in front of her. Then another thought hit her and her eyes widened.

Oh gods, she was already on her way to becoming a weirdo as well. In the future, would she consider this normal as well? That sounded...She blinked for a moment. Actually not that bad. Not feeling any shame or confusion over special family gestures. On the other hand, not feeling any shame could also backfire and she would become the laughing stock of the world and not feel a thing about it, thus the situation never changing.

What a dilmna, she mused dryly and decided to discard that train of thought. Shaking her head wit ha sigh, she looked up. In that moment, she saw Luciel rise from the bag she was searching through, and twirled around, revealing a blue pajama with a hoodie. She giggled as she pressed it to her chest and looked at her brother with a grin.

"Been a long time since we slept together!" She turned to Lili and pointed both of her fingers at Obsidian's room. "You wanna join to? Just for testing sake."

The Pallum froze at the offer. Repeating the words in her head one more time, she narrowed her eyes with a slightly open mouth.

"Testing?"

"Your cuddle rating," the sorcerer stated nonchalantly with a handwave, as if that explained everything. Then she paused for a moment and tapped her chin with a hum. "Also if three people sleeping in one bed actually works out."

"That will never work," Obsidian said in a flat tone and crossed his arms. In response, Luciel huffed in an offended manner and glanced at him with a glare.

"I'm a scientist, I have to at least test it."

"Uhm..." Lili raised her hand awkwardly and bit her lip. "I...really don't feel comfortable with this." With you, she thought and winced the moment she did so. It felt kind of mean, but she had to face the facts: She did not know this woman, thus there was no way she could relax enough to sleep in the same bed as her. It was too intimate for a first night together and honestly, she was really not in the mood to share a bed in the first place. To her relief, Luciel's expression softened up at her.

"Too soon, hm?" She shrugged before spinning around. "Well, I can live with that. To the bath!"

As soon as she said this, she ran to the bath and closed the door behind her, leaving father and daughter alone. For a while, only silence was between them, before Lili walked up to him and hugged him from the left side.

"You missed her, didn't you?" She muttered with a smile, before burying her head into him. He in return gently rubbed her head, a quiet chuckle escaped him.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

* * *

 **Exodus 14.2**

Not a lot of people knew about it, but Lili had a morning routine. It might not have any religious reasons or was overly complex, but it was something she had started soon after joining the Loki family. Suffice to say, it gave her peace of mind and it relaxed her by doing it. She hated if she didn't get to do it and usually became grumpy. Lefiya was one of the first to experience it, though the Pallum forgave the poor girl rather quickly. She looked like a kicked puppy, how could she stay mad at that? Well, the elf always looked like a kicked puppy when something was even remotely mean to her.

Anyway, her routine was rather simple. When the first sun rays enter her room, she would get off her bed and do some stretching. Splits, bending to the side with a hand on the hip and the arm over her head, twisting her body left and right, focusing on her hips while doing it, before finishing off with a few jumps to shake her joints awake a little bit. With that done, she turned around and make her bed, humming to herself while doing so. Folding the blanket two times and putting it right beneath her pillow, she let out a satisfied sigh. Having finished that, she turned around and walked towards the door. Grabbing the knob, a small smile was on her face as she was ready to finish the rest of her sequence. She opened the door and exited her room, before turning around to close it. Once the room was closed off, she clapped her hands together three times. At the third time, she kept her hands pressed together and closed her eyes with a deep breath. Holding that position for a few seconds, she lowered her arms and cracked her neck with a grin.

Now she felt ready for today. With that in mind, she spun around. As she stepped forward, the door next to her opened and she opened her mouth to greet her father and her aunt.

However, Lili forgot that the heavens were conspiring against her. Which meant that they had to prove that she was not ready for today at all.

She froze mid step, mouth hanging open in disbelief as she saw Obsidian walk out, yawning as he scratched the back of his head with his left hand. The reason she froze? Her eyes slowly followed what he was holding in his right hand. To be specifically, the left leg of Luciel, who he dragged over the hard wood as he approached the kitchen table. A part of her noted that all three of them wore the same type of sleeping wear, as in a black, long sleeved pajama set with buttons. She followed them with her eyes after putting her foot down, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

By the heavens, Lisa wasn't joking. Luciel was not a morning person. At all. Not to mention, she did not react to anything aside from some sleepy groaning. One would imagine getting her face rubbed all over the floor would cause her to be more annoyed or wake up, but not that lady. She didn't even twitch when Obsidian reached the table and dropped her leg hard, only receiving an "mmrmph" as a response. Then, he walked up to her upper body and picked her up, his arms under her shoulders and raised her up in the air. Now, Lili could see the sorcerer's face and she stepped back, shuddering at the sight. The eyes were completely blank, half open as they were, just as her mouth was. If she hadn't heard her noises, the Pallum would have thought that her father killed his sister and decided to play around with her corpse.

She shook her head, getting that morbid picture out of her head and instead observed as he put her on the chair he would usually sit on. Before Luciel's head could slam down on the table, he held her in place with his left hand by her chin, his right hand digging into his pocket. AS he did so, he began to scratch her chin gently, as if…

The realization caused her to cross her arms with a raised eyebrow, before sitting down on her seat, opposite to them.

"Why are you treating her like a cat?" She asked, pointing her right finger at them. Obsidian looked up for a moment, before focusing back on his sister, who purred quietly with closed eyes.

"Petting sessions pacify her," he muttered, slightly tired. At the same time, he pulled out two hair bands and a brush out of his pockets. Putting the brush down on the table, he removed his left hand from her chin, causing her to let out a small whine. However, she stopped when he grabbed a hold of her hair and giggled quietly when he began to make her signature pigtails. He glanced up as he twisted the band around the piece of hair he grabbed.

"If anyone else would touch her-"

"They get attacked?" Lili finished for him and he nodded with a flat expression.

"Blasted, to be specific." Going over to the right side, he swiftly formed the other pigtail and let out a satisfied breath. "There we go, hair back to normal. Good girl." He playfully tapped her right cheek, causing Luciel to smile a little. Following that, he looked up as he picked up the brush and pointed behind him. "Can you make breakfast? I gotta brush her awake."

Well, not like she had anything better to do. Not to mention, her cooking skills improved a lot thanks to the Hostess of Fertility. All those jobs she did would make her a good housekeeper, if she ever gave up being an adventurer. That would never happen unless something really drastic happened, but she appreciated the comment from Ryuu.

She blushed a bit when she remembered that her exact words were 'good housewife'. Shaking her head before more...weird thoughts appeared, she folded her sleeves up with a shrug, clearing her throat to make sure Obsidian wouldn't catch her embarrassment. As she walked towards the kitchen however, he snapped his fingers, causing her to look to him. As he gently brushed her hair, he motioned with his head towards his room.

"Could you throw me her hat? It should hang at the door."

She turned to her right, seeing the oversized hat. Without looking back, she flicked her wrist and threw it at him. The soft thud and a casual 'thanks' later and she let out a small sigh of relief. It would have been real embarrassing if she had missed. Luckily for them, the two tended to throw stuff at each other. By now, they usually didn't have to look if the other was ready or not, instead throwing and catching the wanted item without having to watch out for anything.

Anyway, as she stood behind the counter and cracked some eggs on the pan over the open fire, she looked up, observing the back of the adults in this building. She saw Luciel playfully sway her upper body left and right, playing around with her wizard hat on the table, while Obsidian brushed the hair. The two of them were humming some sort of slow melody. While she couldn't see their faces, the Pallum was sure the two of them were grinning, probably even in a childish way. Still, seeing them so close, her mind went back to what she thought the day before, causing her to frown.

So easy to misunderstand. They were hopefully aware of this. Then again, better to be safe than sorry, she thought and decided to take a deep breath.

"If Riveria ever saw this, she would be real jealous, y'know that?" She commented dryly, raising an eyebrow. As Obsidian froze for a moment, causing their guest to let out a childish whine, Lili couldn't help but narrow her eyes as she looked down on the meat she was grilling.

Weird, the thought of her father's love life didn't...well, disgust her as much as it did in the past. She let out a small grunt, at least she could chalk that up to becoming a bit more mature. It was a real pain in the ass. After all, she should be happy for him to have a love interest and Riveria was a great person. Childish thoughts like these had no place in her life. She had enough shit to deal with already.

Anyway, Obsidian turned around, coughing awkwardly, his right fist barely covering his flushed face.

"Why mention her?" He asked with averted eyes. In return, she gave her a very flat look, her arms still moving as she threw the rice in with the meat and the eggs.

"You know why."

To her surprise, he let out a deep sigh and looking down on the ground as he fully turned to her.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered with his hands on his hips. Then, he glanced to his sister, who hadn't moved for a while, and bit his lip. "Not gonna change how I act around her though."

Lili couldn't help but blink at that. He...was aware? Of Riveria's affection. Since when?! She bit back yelling the question, instead focusing on setting the bowls. Still, the realization still had its effect on her thought process. If he knew, then why were the two of them so...so...annoying?! She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. No, as dumb as Obsidian could be sometimes, as she had witnessed yesterday, he probably had his reasons. So what could it be? Looking down at the bowls, she crossed her arms. It couldn't be Riveria's reputation, he didn't really care about that. Not to mention, he was technically a king as well, so there was that. They already established that he knew the feeling was mutual, so it couldn't be the fear of getting 'friendzoned' as some books in this house defined it.

Her eyes widened as she realized what his reason was. He had no idea how to do it. The whole romance thing. The only experience he ever had was from books or seeing other people, but he personally was just not confident. His self esteem was always an issue, even after 'getting over' his trauma. Which meant that he probably assumed that stepping into the unknown would just lead to bad things. It was the same reasons he had for keeping her away from the dungeon and being mad that she went anyway.

As she picked up the food bowls, she frowned at him as he sat down to Luci's left. Was he really going to miss out on love just because he was afraid of making mistakes? Biting her tongue, she forced her face to go blank. No, she shouldn't confront him now. After all, that was just her theory. It could have been something else. Though she would only figure it out if she talked with him.

A loud yawn caued her eyes to move away from him and as she sat down, she saw Luciel finally being awake as she stretched her arms with a satisfied breath. The Pallum licked her lips.

Well, her aunt could do the talking too. Maybe she would have more luck than the daughter. Same age, knowing him longer...though she would need to see him and Riveria together to see the issue. Though that would mean trusting her, Lili thought with a small frown.

She poked into her meat with her chopsticks, shaking her head. Well, not like she was in any worry. Worst case, she just had to delay the talk with her father over his love life. The thought made her snort. Who would have thought she would ever think like that.

Anyway, she discarded her thoughts when she saw her aunt's expression being completely devoid of sleepiness, instead a wide grin on her face. The contrast was rather jarring, she thought with a blink. Rolling her shoulder, the sorcerer put the hat on, before clapping her hands together, thanking for the meal, before digging in. However, only after a few bites, she pointed the chopsticks at her brother, narrowing her eyes after swallowing her food.

"Seriously, you gotta upgrade your living conditions. The bed was murder on my back." In demonstration, the woman bend her back a bit, puffing her chest out in the process, and groaned when a crack sounded filled the air. Obsidian on the other hand gave her a flat look before pointing at himself.

"First of all, that 'bed' was me." Then he twirled his hand at the room with a sigh. "Second, I like my hut."

"That much," the sorcerer said in a flat tone, before shoving some more rice into her mouth. He in response clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head.

"Fair enough." Putting some meat into his mouth, he shrugged and swallowed. Then, he glanced at his daughter, pointing his chopsticks at her. "Do you want another house?"

Lili blinked with her chopsticks in her mouth, before frowning in thought. Did she want another house? If somebody had asked her in the past, she would have immediately said yes, wanting as much luxury as possible to get away from her Soma living standards. After all, if one had nothing, they wanted anything to fill it. But now, she...had everything she ever wanted.

A loving family, both in an adventurer and in a familial sense, a warm bedroom from both. Hell, she had a taste of both luxury from the Twilight Manor and simplicity from the building she was currently eating. Looking deep inside herself, as she emptied the bowl, she didn't find a single hint of wanting more. Because of that, she put her bowl on the table and twirled her right hand nonchalantly with a small grin.

"I mean, if you want to. It doesn't really matter to me."

The adults stared at her for a short while, before glancing at each other. In the end, they both shrugged without care. They raised their bowls up to their faces as they shoveled the rest of the breakfast into their mouth. The two of them clapped their hands together, letting out a satisfied breath. All of a sudden however, Luciel shot up from her seat and dashed into Obsidian's room. Seconds later she came back out, fully equipped in yesterday's outfit, and let out a warm laugh as she spun her staff in her right hand.

"Alright, see ya later!"

With that said, she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Obsidian to casually pick up the dishes and Lili confused.

That was...very abrupt.

"She's going to the Guild," her father said as he threw the dishes into the sink and dusting his hands off. Then, he motioned with his head to their rooms. "Official business. Now get ready, we gotta go somewhere too before meeting up at the manor."

"Where?" The Pallum asked, tilting her head slightly. In response to that, he put his hands on his hips, giving her a small grin.

"Gotta recruit one more person for the mission."

* * *

 **Exodus 14.3**

Not fighting inside the dungeon felt weird, the Pallum thought dryly as she strolled through the rocky paths as the rest of the Loki family engaged a group of monsters. The mere thought of not doing anything but walk on the 17th floor was quite baffling to her. Though then again, this was the very same group Aiz led into the area before. They just had to apply what they learned, with their leaders only having to give a tip here and there. It probably helped that there was no monster party this time, so instead they simply had to deal with smaller groups. However, even disregarding those things, one could not deny that the adventurers in front of them performed way better than before.

The reason was most likely the fact that one of their executives, as in Riveria, decided to tag along for this mission. The drive to impress her, from male and female alike, could be seen on their glowing expressions of determination. Still, as happy as she was for them, Lili was quite frankly bored. Looking around, she could tell from the expressions on her team that were standing ready behind the front liners that they felt the same. Riveria on the other hand maintained a cool, professional mask as she talked with Aiz, who listened attentively to her teacher. Meanwhile, Obsidian and Luciel were giggling over something as they gestured at hell hounds. If people didn't see their sibling relationship before, the fact that they both wore identical coats, only his was black, they would totally see it now.

The Pallum pouted a bit as she saw the shine of his new equipment, the arm and leg guards almost glowing in a silver light. Not to mention the one handed axe at his side, its composition completely devoid of anything non metallic. The black head wasn't a curve, but instead resembled a square with a corner being its point. It was meant to crush instead of cutting anything. Though she didn't recognize the red orb in the middle, that connected the shaft with the blade.  
Lili let out a sigh. She was so jealous. While Liberty was her life and blood by now, seeing her father in new gear made her want a new set as well. Clapping her cheeks lightly, she glanced to her side, smiling softly as any greedy thoughts vanished. After all, who cared for other people's equipment if a beautiful elf like Ryuu Lion walked next to her?

"Thanks again for helping us out, Ryuu," she said to the hooded elf next to her, who calmly observed the battles in front of them with crossed arms. At her words, Ryuu glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"How many times do I have to say it?" Behind her mask, the woman smiled softly at her. "I would do anything for you."

A small part of her knew that the elf meant this in a pure platonic way. The rest of Lili however was too busy trying to suppress the urge from clutching her chest. As her face heated up, the Pallum cursed that her friend was causing such a reaction from her. Still, she knew she had to say something before things became too awkward. The fact that Ryuu tilted her head in a cute, but worried manner did not help at all though. With all her mental strength, Lili took a deep breath and forced an awkward smile on her face.

"Ehehe...y-yeah..." She muttered, averting her face with a blush as she crossed her hands behind her back. She could feel Ryuu's stare at her back, but to her relief, her friend didn't push the matter, instead focusing back to the front.

Lili let out a sigh. So much for having a talking partner, she thought as she bit her lip, faint blush still on her face. Gods, why did Ryuu had to say something so weird? It was so easy to misunderstand. The worst was that she was affected by it so much. What was she, an inexperienced teenager? The thought made her pause for a moment, and her shoulders slumped. Right, she was an inexperienced teenager.

As if she didn't feel weird enough with having Ryuu here. After all, their...recruitment of her was not exactly by the books. When she and her father had arrived at the Hostess and asked her to accompany them, the elf immediately refused to their surprise. When they had asked for her reason, she simply pointed out that, aside from the fact that she retired due to her goddess not being around anymore, she was blacklisted by the guild. Honestly, by that point, Lili felt bad for convincing her anyway. It felt like forcing her, even if it wasn't like that. After all, making sure that the Guild won't come after her for entering the dungeon could only be considered a good thing. With Luciel having dealt with the issue, nothing stood in the way of, as Ryuu phrased, making sure that Lili wouldn't get in a bad situation again. The memory caused her blush to intensify a little.

Anyway, speaking of Luciel...

"So, you must be Ryuu Lion. I heard a lot about you," the sorcerer said as she walked up to them. She smiled politely and bowed her head a little. "Glad to have you here."

As the elf bowed slightly as well, she raised an eyebrow to her right side.

"Obsidian has been talking behind my back then? For shame," she stated, her voice tinged in amusement as she crossed her arms. However, Luciel waved her right hand dismissively as she used her other hand to hold her staff like a walking stick.

"Oh no, don't blame him. He did tell me some stuff, but I got most of my information elsewhere..." She trailed off and her expression became more softer as she looked straight ahead. A melancholy sigh escaped her. "After all, Lady Astraea likes to talk about the past."

Instantly, Ryuu came to a stop, as if frozen in time. Lili paused as well, giving her friend a worried look, as the elf could only stare at the sorcerer with wide eyes. While Luciel frowned a bit at the reaction, the Pallum bit her lip, trying to figure out what the big deal was with that name. It did sound familiar…

Her eyes widened when it clicked in her head. With a sharp intake of breath, she barely restrained herself from slapping herself. Astraea, of course she heard that name before. After all, it was the name of Ryuu's goddess. The goddess she sent away after going on a...morally ambiguous rampage, at best. Ever since that, the elf had never heard of her again, but she knew that the deity was still on this plane. Why? Her Falna was not sealed like it would have it it were the case.

Anyway, the realization made Lili's head spin a little. What were the chances that the country her father came from would host the goddess of her friend? Speaking of her father, she thought with a small snarl, why the hell did he never tell her about it?! Or mention that there were deities on Boundary?! One would believe that would be important information to share, but her old man apparently did not think so!

Her internal rant was interrupted when something moved next to her. Turning her head, she saw Ryuu opening her mouth a few times, but unable to get the words out. Her eyes were almost completely empty, as she stared at Luciel, whose smile fell as she frowned in concern. Sweat ran down her skin, as she took short and shallow breaths. Worried, Lili tugged at her sleeve.

In that moment, the elf's eyes snapped wide, becoming alive again and glanced at her. She in return gave her a weak smile, happy that she managed to get her out of her mind, whatever was going on in there. It was probably not something good, judging from her hyperventilation. But who could blame her? Thinking about her goddess would lead to the family in general, which would lead to the massacres against her loved ones and the culprits. Suffice to say, it was most likely a good thing that Lili decided to act.

Ryuu's mouth twitched slightly, before she took a deep breath and looked back at the sorcerer.

"She...she is…?" She trailed off as her hands curled up into fists. With a sigh, Luciel nodded with a small smile.

"In Boundary, yes." Giggling a little, she snapped her fingers at her, before tipping her hat. "Before I forget. Congratulations, you have about fifty new family members."

The two girls stared at the Boundary native with a blank look as they both tilted their heads. That was rather sudden and random to mention, Lili thought dryly. Sighing at their lack of reaction, she twirled her staff as she continued.

"She offered to bless some of our people. We decided to take her up on her offer to bless our...elite squads and now she has a full time job, basically." A soft expression appeared on her face as she glanced behind them. "Reason I could take a leave in the first place. The squads are becoming stronger."

While her aunt was staring at Obsidian, Lili couldn't help but let out a whistle, while Ryuu lowered her head in thought.

She knew how many people stood in line for Lady Loki when an expedition was at the horizon. The goddess would then spent most of the time updating statuses and by the end of it, she would resemble a husk more than a normal living being. Lili shuddered at the thought of someone having to do that every day. Then again, if it was basically a full time job, maybe Lady Astraea could divide the 'sessions' into more reasonable units?

Anyway, the Gale took a deep breath and smiled to herself. However, it had a sad air to it, causing the other two to frown at her, in Lili's case with worry.

"She is moving forward," the elf muttered as she looked down on the ground. In response, the mage crossed her arms with a neutral expression.

"Yes, that's why it's a shame that her strongest child is still-"

"Luci."

Before she could finish whatever she wanted to say, though it did sound rather mean, Lili thought with a small glare, Obsidian walked up to them, shaking his head slowly at his sister. Realizing her poor choice of words, she bit her lip before bowing slightly.

"Sorry."As she raised her head, a small smile was on her face as she stared at the elf. "She doesn't hate you, you know? You can visit her anytime. She...misses you."  
Ryuu stared at her for a while, face completely blank.

"I keep that in mind," she replied in a neutral tone, before closing her eyes and increasing her pace as she went to the left wing. "Apologies, but I should keep watch at other fronts."

The Pallum opened her mouth and reached for her, but Ryuu was already gone before she could even let out a sound. The fact that she so suddenly left, with that expression...She knew that face. It was the face she always had on when working as a waitress.

A method to distance herself from others. A part of Lili knew that it was only a natural reaction. After all, the elf just found out where her goddess was and what she had been doing. Still, the fact that she didn't confide in her...Lili clenched her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she glanced to the adults of their household. Luciel fiddled with her staff, her fingers drumming against the foot as she looked at her brother.

"I didn't fuck up, right?" She asked, sounding a little guilty. In response, Obsidian gave her a small smile and shook his head.

"Nah, you did your best." However, he let out a deep sigh as he put his hands on his hips. "Man, I really feel awkward for not seeing the connection earlier."

Lili did a double take at that, before jogging forward a little. Then, she spun around and walked backwards as she crossed her arms with a skeptical look at him.

"Wait, you didn't know?"

"Nope." The man chuckled awkwardly as he twirled with his right hand. "I was..."

"Really out of it," Luciel finished for him, leaning forward with her arms behind her back. She narrowed her eyes at him as she clicked her tongue. "You didn't notice anything, did ya? Name, everyone getting stronger?"

"Yeah, kinda embarrassing," he muttered, lowering his head as he blushed a little. Luciel, and Lili this time as well, giggled at his embarassment.

He really was an old man sometimes. No wonder he was sensitive about it. The truth hurt after all, she thought with a small chuckle. Still, she knew better than say that out loud right before a big fight. Suffering from another black eye would be bad.

Speaking of big fight...

"We should be close by now," Luciel muttered, scratching her chin in thought as they approached the wall. Lili nodded, looking around as the group began to ready themselves, either by tensing up, double checking their equipment, or in the case of experienced ones like Aiz or Riveria, simply relaxed even more. However, that calm was just a facade, as every fiber of their body was ready to move. She could see the same kind of relaxation with the two veterans close to her.

Anyway, Luciel for some reason had a sly grin on her face before she turned to Obsidian, while setting the staff down on the ground with her left hand. As he stopped, she giggled a little. "Let's do the thing."

He blinked for a moment, before raising an eyebrow as he twirled his new axe.

"It's just the two of us though."

"Come on, let's do it!" Luciel nudged him against the side with her elbow, causing him to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Alright, fine." He turned to Lili and pointed at her with a frown. "Don't laugh."

Before she could ask what the hell they were talking about, they raised their weapons and crossed them in front of each other. With serious expressions, they looked at each other, before looking down at their gear.

"Unyielding steel, that protects all. Lightning that strikes from above," Obsidian began to chant. Not missing a beat, Luciel followed up on that.

"Wondrous magic, that creates all. Gravity that oppresses everything."

They paused for a moment, while Lili's eyes were wide at the display, before the two of them nodded at each other.

"We are mortals that shall reach the heavens. We are limited and break through all heights. Boundaries are nothing to us. Be it monster or mortal or god, no one shall stop us. Heed our name." They raised their weapons in the air, their voices rising in volume.

"We are the Emperors of Gaia!"

With wide grins, they slammed their forearms together, right in Obsidian's case and left in Luciel's. Then, without warning, the ground gave in beneath them as they stomped down. Lili covered her face as they dashed forward, ignoring any surprised yelps or questions of what they were doing, Riveria being the most vocal one. As the front liners hurried to follow after them, the Dynamo stood there for a while, blinking in confusion.

Honestly, Lili had no idea what to think of what just happened. On the one hand, it was kind of cool. On the other hand, it was very tacky. She licked her lips with a frown. Tacky cool? Yeah, that sounded right. Well, whatever made them happy. It wasn't like she ever had any stuff like that. Judging from the way Lisa squealed silently at what just happened, she had the feeling that was going to change real quick though. She sighed. Hopefully it would at least be something short. Slapping her cheeks, she cracked her neck and summoned up Liberty, before running after the others, with only a few people behind her. A short dash later, she skid to a stop, ready for a fight as she held her dagger in her right hand. However, she straightened up her back and tilted her head in confusion.

There was nothing. Only Obsidian and Luciel, back to back as they looked forward, their arms extending to their back with the weapons in hands. She glanced around. Up, down, to the sides. Seeing that Aiz and Riveria were as confused as her, Lili came to one conclusion.

The damn bug wasn't even here.

Lili shared a look with the rest of her team, who walked up next to her. They too had a mix of confusion and worry as they frowned at the area. They definitely did not imagine it, so where could it be? Though in hindsight, it was rather optimistic to expect the monster to stay at one place. Which still begged the question of where did it go? Up? Down? Somewhere else on this floor? They had nothing to go by, as the damage done previously was already gone, the hallway as smooth as it could be inside the dungeon. It put her and others on edge, as they immediately eyed the area. Only silence reigned as they checked every corner, every stone, every millimeter for anything that screamed bug.

However, minutes passed and they started to let their guard down, as they did not find anything. No place for a big monster like that insect to hide and if it wanted to attack them, it had already lost its chance. Realizing that, they sheathed their weapons. But Lili couldn't help but wince at the sight of her father and her aunt still frozen in their positions. With their backs to the group, they could not make out their expression, but judging from their shaking, the Pallum knew for a fact that they were embarrassed. Who wouldn't be? After all the fanfare they just did, only for nothing to happen...Lili would have wished the ground would eat her up. Naturally, that was also the adults reaction as they hunched over and reached for their heads.

"Maybe we should have pinged the area first," Obsidian muttered quietly as he pulled the hood over his head and tugged it down in order to hide his face. Slowly nodding, Luciel did something similar, pulling down her hat instead to hide herself from the world. The two of them stood there for a while, before sinking down to their knees, pitiful whines escaping them. Lili couldn't help but blink, before crossing her arms.

Now that was just sad, she and probably everyone else thought as they all nodded slowly with the lips pressed together.

* * *

 **Exodus 14.4**

Lili bit her lip at the sight in front of her.

The wind caused Ryuu's cloak to flutter in the air. Almost like a statue, she stood in front of the small hill located in the round clearing in the forest. Weapons were imbedded in that very hill, ten in total, ranging from a simple dagger to a big wide axe. Coupled with the big white flag in the middle, it was easy to assume that this was a grave. A memorial. Her mind went back to how the elf told her about her family's fate, causing her to grasp the fabric around her heart. It hurt her to see Ryuu mourn like that. It would have been easier to watch if she actually showed any emotions, but the elf remained stoic, dead to the world as she stared at the grave of her family.

After clenching her eyes shut for a while, Lili opened them again. Then, she let out a deep sigh. What the hell was she doing? The moment they entered Under Resort, once Obsidian and Luciel got over their personal embarrassment, they all split up in order to complete the various tasks. Riveria and Aiz met up somewhere in private to discuss some strategy, most likely preparing the latter for leadership duty. A part of Lili thought this was too risky, but then she remembered that training would be worthless without the real risk involved in a proper battle.

Anyway, the rest went off to gather intel about any bug related sightings or restocked whatever items they needed in preparation. Though while they all remained in the city, Luciel and Obsidian were exceptions, having decided to stay outside the town as well in order to scout.

Something Lili was not doing, she thought with some guilt.

No, instead she stood there, almost like a stalker, and observer her friend. However, she would not be able to do it any longer, as said friend turned her head slightly. Her ears twitched a little, causing Lili to stiffen, before letting out a sigh. Even without directly looking at her, Ryuu made it clear that she knew that somebody was there. Better avoid a sword to the head, the Pallum thought dryly as she scratched the back of her head while approaching her.

"Sorry for intruding," she muttered as she walked up to Ryuu's left. The elf blinked at her with tired eyes when the Pallum stood next to her, before slowly shaking her head with closed eyes.

"No...it is alright." Taking a deep breath, a frail smile appeared on her face as she glanced at Lili. "I wanted to show you this place eventually."

The Pallum coughed awkwardly, before looking at the grave in front of her. She knew she had to say something, anything. Something poignant or meaningful, in order to show the proper respect Ryuu and the Astraea Family deserved. However, she drew a blank. Dealing with death was something Lili had few experience with. Sure, she had some...rather dark thoughts in the Soma Family and almost died during her level up. But never had she attended something this close to a funeral. She had never thought about what to do if she ever dealt with the deaths of closed ones, or the closed ones of friends. Glancing to her side however, she realized that she had to come up with something. The smile was long gone from Ryuu's face, instead an empty expression in place, her eyes glazed over.

Lili was not an idiot, fully knowing when somebody was in a dark place. She saw enough of that with Obsidian. Desperate to find something for a distraction, to fill the void between them and inside Ryuu, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Then, she realized that these weapons were not particularly...special in any way, like her Liberty or Aiz' Desperate. While sturdy and reliable looking despite the dirt and rust it gathered, it was just that. Nothing she imagined high class adventurers would utilize as weapons. Because of that, she couldn't help but point at them as she tilted her head.

"Did those weapons belong to them?" She asked, fully aware that this was not the best thing she could have come up with. But it was better than nothing, especially if it helped get rid of whatever funk Ryuu was in right now. It helped a little bit, as her eyes became alive again as she blinked, as little life as there was.

"They were not their favorite ones. Simply spares," she explained quietly, not looking away from the grave before letting out a deep sigh. "But it was all I could do for them."

Gently, Lili reached for Ryuu's hand. The latter flinched for a moment, but did not reject her touch. Smiling softly, the Pallum grasped her hand and squeezed lightly. It was just a small gesture, she was aware of that, but it was the only thing left she could do: Show that she was there for Ryuu. She had no idea what to say, so only actions could help. Feeling her friend squeezing back, Lili felt her heart warm up, happy that she gave her friend a little comfort.

The two of them remained silent, only the wind rustling the leaves filling the air. A small part of her told her she shouldn't wait too long with the elf, considering that they were on a mission. The rest of her however? She was ready to wait as long as needed to be.

She did not have to wait long.

"It was by pure chance we had found this place," Ryuu said after while with her head lowered. She licked her lips while closing her eyes. "I do not know why they all agreed that this would be the place they would like to be buried in." An amused scoff escaped her. "Perhaps it was because of the form of this area."

"It is a nice circle," Lili commented, giggling a little as she looked around. It was like it was made for special occasions, as weird as it was being located in a forest in the dungeon and all that. However, as fast as the amusement came, it vanished from the elf's face as she looked up at the ceiling.

"I will never know why now. I can think of plenty of reasons, but I cannot say for sure." She turned to the Pallum, a melancholy expression on her face. "What does that say about me?" At Lili's silence, she lowered her head. "Sometimes...I wonder what they would say. About me, as I am now."

"I can only make some guesses," Lili muttered, before frowning at her friend in disapproval. "All of them positive though."

She chuckled quietly, nodding in gratitude. However, the smile fell as she took a deep breath.

"I am not quite sure. There is this small part in my mind that tells me they would hate me for various reasons." She bit her lip. "It is an insult to their memory to think that, I know. They were good people. Not a single trace of evil in them, unlike me."

"Ryuu..."

Lili's eyes were filled with sadness as she looked at her friend. She was talking about how she didn't want to insult others, yet here she was insulting herself. The Pallum wished she could say more, anything to help. But she lacked the words. She was not a good speaker at all. Not knowing Ryuu's allies, Lili could not pretend to imagine what they would think of her. Because of that, she could only remain silent and keep her friend company, as she revealed her heart to her.

"Lightbringer's words...just reinforced this opinion of mine," Ryuu muttered, causing Lili to blink in confusion.

"Why?"

The elf hesitated, before shaking her head and looking right into her eyes, an empty laugh escaping her.

"I do not know if I should ever meet my goddess again." At the surprise she received, Ryuu took a deep breath. "She is the only thing left from my past. I love her like a mother." Slowly, she removed her hand from Lili's and grabbed her right arm with a guilty expression. "However..."

Ignoring her own little pain, the Pallum straightened up, giving Ryuu a weak grin as encouragement to continue. Nodding at the gesture, she looked back at the grave in front of her.

"There is a reason she hadn't come back to Orario, Lili," she muttered and closed her eyes, a shaky breath escaping her. "And I am afraid of that reason. Even if I can understand it." She let out a scoff. "After all, I did chase her away. I did go against everything she had ever stood for. But the thought of her looking at me like I-"

Her eyes snapped open as she suddenly stopped, before she shook her head. However, Lili grit her teeth, fully aware what she wanted to say. One could easily see the self loathing after all. It was visible in her eyes, even worse than it was with Obsidian. Thinking of her father, she realized that only time and support could heal this, if at all. Because of that, she scratched the back of her head with a sigh.

"I...won't force you or convince you to do anything. It's your choice." Shaking her head, she crossed her arms and frowned at Ryuu. "I think that you're too hard on yourself though."

The elf blinked for a moment, before smiling back weakly in gratitude. Then, she turned back to the grave, clicking her tongue.

"If you don't mind...I like to be alone for a while," she muttered quietly without looking at Lili. The latter nodded, having expecting this. With a final tap on the shoulder, the Pallum turned around and went back into the forest. Once she walked a small distance, she exhaled in frustration and rubbed her forehead. Remembering Riveria's words, she closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten. No need to be too greedy. She could have done better, yes, but she had to remind herself that she wasn't perfect.

Nobody was. At the very least, she could rest easy that her presence helped Ryuu a little bit. She shuddered at the thought of how she would be like alone, subject to all of her dark thoughts. Jumping over the river, she wondered idly how the others were doing. Did they already find something out? It would have been nice if they did, though they still had a couple hours before having to meet up. Though it could be cut short, especially if Obsidian or Luciel found anything and rushed back to inform them.

Or had to fight. That was also the case.

"...be afraid, okay?"

Lili stopped short and frowned. Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or she, in this case. Slowly, she sneaked to a nearby tree and peeked around the corner. As she expected, her aunt stood there with her back to Lili. While she couldn't exactly see him, due to the hat potentially covering him, she could recognize the frustrated sigh anywhere. Shaking her head dryly, the daughter was about to step forward, when Luciel spoke up again, unusually serious.

"Ask Riveria out."

Almost immediately, the Pallum snapped back behind the tree, before covering her flushed face.

By the gods, what did she walk into?! She felt like she was missing a lot from this conversation, because Obsidian was actually considering her words. At the very least, he was not spluttering in denial. Usually, at least in her expectations, this would take a whole lot longer than what she heard. Lili bit her lip with a blush. Great, now it felt way too awkward to show herself. Hopefully they didn't notice her, else this would get a whole lot more awkward, impossible as it seemed to her.

Honestly, she had nothing against Riveria. Hell, she was actually the only "mom" candidate she could think of. So her disgust did not come for this. She was actually happy that her father was trying to find love. Anything that could make him happier would make her happier. Not to mention, a part of her found them actually cute. Maybe it was because they were adults, but them acting like teenagers was kind of adorable. At least it was hilarious.

Still, thinking about romance and her dad just felt way too weird! But now she was forced to listen, as her aunt encouraged Obsidian to follow his heart! Taking a deep breath, she braced herself.

"We both know that keeping quiet about your true feelings is only going to hurt." Luciel's voice turned flat. "Especially if you two are aware of it."

"You sure it won't end badly?" He asked quietly. Lili raised an eyebrow at that. She had never heard him so...uncertain before. At least not in this topic. Sure, she suspected that he was not very confident in his romance skills, hence the reason he remained in a friendship with Riveria. Not to mention that the teenager had zero experience to judge him with. But still, was he that nervous about it? Shaking her head, she hoped Luciel knew what she was doing.

"I don't know." Before the daughter could snarl in outrage at the crappy advice, her aunt sighed and put her hands on her hips. "But, if you really love her...you at least give this a try."

Obsidian remained silent for a while, before clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"Fine. Just gotta find the right moment though," he muttered, causing his sister to giggle playfully.

"Tell me when, I gotta film it and post it on Twitter."

"We don't have Twitter," he replied flatly. "And no."

As the two laughed at their little inside joke, Lili couldn't help but frown. Not at the fact that he decided to go for it, she was totally cool with that. No, it was the fact that they insisted on using those insider jokes that nobody understood.

It was probably one of those...other dimension things. The specifics went over her head, but the basics were easy enough to understand. It was essentially another book, that was next to their book, as in the world of the Gods. Usually both were closed of to each other, but in a freak accident, a connection formed, momentarily as it was, and decided to send through certain people before closing off again.

Those people were Obsidian, Luciel and two other people. Now their world did not have any gods, but also no monsters in the sense Lili knew them. Because of that, apparently, they focused a lot more on technology. Technology they decided to copy with the magic in their realm and share it with the people in Boundary.

Somebody like Riveria understood it way easier than her, but whatever, she got it and that's all she needed. It was...rather eye opening, that other realities could exist. Lili herself wasn't particularly mad that they made use of their knowledge nobody else had here. Why not use what they knew? Though her being so nonchalant would probably be because she could not properly imagine their world. What did more advanced mean? More modern? A world without magic and gods?

It was impossible for her and she decided not to break her head over it.

Anyway, at some point someone asked if they ever wanted to return back to their home dimension.

She and never heard such a fast and confident no in her life before. Lili couldn't help but smile weakly, a tear running down her cheek. Her father considered this his world. He spoke a lot of how he felt more comfortable, more alive here than anywhere else and how he didn't miss anything on the 'other side' enough to want returning to it. Which meant that he wouldn't want to go back no matter what, leaving her behind. Wiping the tear off, she tried to calm down, hoping that they did not notice a teenager about to cry behind a tree. Judging from the casual giggling they had, probably not.

"By the way, do you know how that ceiling works? Like, how do the crys-"

Luciel stopped all of a sudden, causing Lili to blink in confusion.

"What's wro _ohhh_ _shit_."

Obsidian was the hammer in the nail and fear blossomed up in her chest. Why did they react like that? With hesitation, the Pallum looked up, sweat running down her skin as she could imagine what was up there. However, at first glance, she remained confused, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. The bright crystals still indicated that it was day outside. The ceiling did not look like it was crumbling, even if there were some small movements here and the-

Wait a damn minute.

Lili narrowed her eyes, focusing as hard as she can. When she finally recognized what was up there, she couldn't help but take a fearsome step back, eyes widening in fear.

That was not possible.

Insect wings. Hundreds upon hundreds of insect wings twitched occasionally between the light crystals, hiding in the small gaps that nobody would ever bother to investigate. They were much, much smaller than the irregular bug Lili and her team met, but it didn't matter. What mattered was one simple question.

Where the hell did they come from? A million answers ran through her head. Spawned by the dungeon. Laid there as eggs. Were always there. An illusion, hopefully.

Just as she was about to step out and ask the Gaia members what they thought, it began, as if spotting them was some sort of trigger. Slowly, but quickly rising in speed, the fluttering of wings sounded in the air. Not soon after, the vibrations became intense enough to cause the very air to vibrate. At the same time, Under Resort's light seemed to flicker, before it was completely overshadowed, as they started to crawl out of their hiding spots. Lili could not believe the reason she was seeing.

A plague. That was all she could think of. Almost like in the legends, a horde of flying insects gathered at the ceiling, moving in a clockwise circle, like a river. Before she could finish to process this, she had to cover her ears as a shrill roar crashed against her and the entire area. She snapped her head towards the source, more specifically the town. Or rather above it. Her eyes widened when a familiar being was perched on a branch, slamming its blade together as it almost seemed to cackle.

The fucker was hiding on the tree. And it had a lot of friends. She could only look at awe as a hand grabbed her at her hood.

* * *

 **Interlude: The Noble Heart III**

The sudden appearance of monsters was always something an adventurer hoped to avoid. From the first step a rookie would take, to a veteran who was very familiar with the dungeon, a surprise attack was one of the most terrifying things that could happen. Of course, such attacks also varied in intensity.

Riveria had to admit that this was the first time she had ever seen so many monsters in a Safe Zone. Meter for meter, the sky was covered with the insects that people have sighted in the dungeon. In the front of them, as it shrieked while flying into the middle of the insect circle, the insect Lili and her team saw clashed its blade, almost as if it was performing a ritual. Whatever it was doing, caused the insects to become even louder, on top of their wing movements adding their own clattering noises.

At the sight of this, one could not be blamed for falling on their knees, their shock causing them to drop their weapons. It was natural to feel despair as the enemy appeared to be everywhere and in overwhelming numbers, like a tidal wave on could not stop.

Nevertheless, Riveria was a veteran. Because of that, she kept a cool head as her head snapped to the highest ranking adventurer in Under Resort.

"Bors!" She exclaimed as she tightened her grip on her staff. The brutish man waved his arm at her dismissively, as he looked up nervously with his one eye.

"I know, I know! You do your thing, I do mine!" Turning away from her, he unsheathed his sword and raised it as he walked towards the population of Under Resort. "Listen up, boys!"

Riveria nodded in approval, before walking into the opposite direction. As crude as the man was, he had experience with sudden attacks in this town and had the charisma to lead his men to battle. She could entrust him to take care of one front, unless an emergency occurred. While making her way to the meeting spot the entire group agreed on prior splitting up, she looked back up at the swarm again and narrowed her eyes.

The insects were not attacking them yet, instead continued to form a ring around their supposed leader. Most monsters would attack on sight, which meant that some form of individuality was there. Looking at the biggest insectoid, she could see it turn his head to the people in the town, before cackling yet again as it began to sharpen its blades against each other. Riveria exhaled slowly. It was taunting them. Allowed them to gather. Only for its own amusement.

Yet again, an irregular monster. The high elf was certain that something was moving in the shadows, to cause so many events to occur one after the other.

"- awareness of yours!"

The loud female voice shook her out of her musings, seeing Obsidian and Luciel arrive first with the former having his daughter tugged under his arms. The father growled as he dropped Lili and threw his arm up at the sky.

"The fuckers hid in the magic crystals, how was I supposed to find them?!"

As the sorcerer crossed her arms with a pout, Riveria couldn't help but bite her lip as she looked at her.

Quite honestly, the executive did not have a good opinion of Luciel when they first met. She was childish and the way she had been clinging to Obsidian did not fill her with positive emotions. After all, what right did she have? She was not around while he suffered, she didn't witness him at his worst. Acting like she was smarter than anyone else, as she explained their origins had only caused more anger to bubble up in her. Because of that, she had asked in quite the passive aggressive tone what her relationship was with Obsidian. For a moment, Luciel had appeared to be ignorant of the underlying message Riveria was sending at her. However, the moment she had noticed, something had happened against all of her expectations.

She barfed at the idea that she was romantically involved with Obsidian. As in literally having thrown up in a bucket that her brother barely managed to get to her. Suffice to say, it had been enough to remove any bad feelings between them based on her own personal jealousy. Once the negative taint of that emotion was gone, Riveria had to admit with shame that she actually liked Luciel Lightbringer. Still, a part of her was still envious. Envious of the deep bond she had with Obsidian. A bond the high elf could only dream of, as it was now, and that emotion also filled her with shame. Perhaps she should apologize once this was over, she thought with a sigh.

Shaking her head, she looked around and nodded in approval. It appeared most adventurers of the Loki family plus others had reached this location. The final person to jump over the buildings and land directly next to Riveria was Aiz. With a grim expression, the Sword Princess looked at the ground, Desperate already in her hand.

"Is everyone here?" She asked, her voice soft, but also firm. The first child of the Hestia Family, Lisa, threw her right arm up, shield equipped.

"All accounted for!"

Aiz nodded, letting out a quiet breath of relief, before turning her head up. This caused everyone else to raise their heads as well, seeing with bating breath that the insects were still not attacking.

"Soo…Recognize it?" Luciel broke the silence in the group shortly after and nudged Obsidian to her left. He narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin in thought.

"Looks really familiar, yeah."

As soon as he muttered out those words, it was like time stood still. Maybe it was coincidence or maybe it actually heard him, but the leading insect stopped its cackling and blade clashing and instead slowly turned its head towards Obsidian. For a while, it stared at him with its bug eyes, expression frozen in what Riveria could only describe as disbelief.

Then its face, as impossible as it seemed, contorted into the most furious snarl she had ever witnessed on a monster. It threw his head up, fluids dropping from its mouth, as it violently shook its head.

" _ **MJÖÖÖÖÖLNIIIIAAAAAR**_!"

Riveria's eyes widened in shock, an act that many others most likely shared. However, as shocking as a monster speaking was, an issue she could think about later, her head snapped back to who she assumed it was addressing. Obsidian and Luciel both gaped, but while their eyes were wide as well, she could also see another emotion in them.

Recognition. This was not the first time they had experienced something like this. Another thing she had to investigate later, on top of the intelligence this monster show cased.

As quick as it came, the two Boundary natives shared a deep breath, before dry smirks appeared on their faces.

"Yup, you definitely killed that," the sorcerer commented, sweat running down her forehead. At the same time, Obsidian twirled his one handed axe in his right hand with a dark laugh.

"I better greet good ol' Semiramis then," he growled. He cracked his neck, causing magic to radiate from his body and taking form as lightning at the same time. Following that he glanced at the exit for just a moment before exhaling slowly. Closing his eyes he slowly curled his left hand into a fist, his fingers moving one by one. "Stay in contact, sis."

With that said, he blurred into motion, leaving the group in an instance. At the same time, Semiramis growled, its head following the high speed movement almost with ease, before diving down with similar swiftness, intent to chase down Obsidian. Not soon after, clashes of metal sounded not far away from the town. Chuckling dryly, Luciel raised her hand at Aiz with an apologizing expression as she closed on eye.

"Sorry about that, Aiz. What's the plan?"

The words caused Aiz to widen her eyes. It was not a reaction she did alone, as the rest gaped as well.

"Is this really the time?!" Somebody, she wasn't sure who, shouted in objection and a part of Riveria couldn't blame them. After all, the Sword Princess was inexperienced. Despite being a high ranking adventurer, she had never led in her entire life in any way but by example. She was a warrior, not a strategist.

Because of those reasons however, Riveria agreed to have her take the reigns. Putting a reassuring hand on her student, she smiled softly at Aiz.

"You can do this." Taking a deep breath, she turned to the group with a stern expression. "If you do not have faith in her, have faith in me. But I can assure you that she will lead us to victory!"

The Sword Princess blinked for a moment, before her eyes burned with determination. Looking around, Riveria noted in satisfaction that she could see the same look in the faces of the younger adventurers as well. The moral was there. The willingness to listen was there. Aiz nodded after taking a deep breath, before raising her sword in the air.

"Everyone, form in squads of four and protect the spell-casters! Those who can chant concurrently while fighting, support the other fronts accordingly!"

Riveria couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly when Aiz looked at a certain individual specifically, the only person that could do what the Sword Princess asked for. Ryuu Lion nodded in understanding, a gesture that not many would have noticed. The executive had many thoughts about the waitress of the Hostess, not all of them even remotely good. However, she took a deep breath and remained silent as she focused back to the task. She trusted Obsidian's judgment, as suspicious as this person was.

Anyway, the entire group roared in cheer to Aiz' commands, before they all rushed out of the town in order to have more free room to maneuver in. In the background, she could hear even more cheering, most likely due to Bors giving his own speech and riling his men up. However, she noticed something weird as they moved to the relatively open plains that surrounded the town.

The insects were still not attacking, keeping up the circle formation they had, even with their leader clashing blades with Obsidian. From the distance it was hard to see, but she could not see any life in those eyes at all. However, that quickly changed when a shrill chirp noise sounded through the area. Its tone shifted, coming from the left before shifting to the right, causing Riveria to assume that it came from Semiramis. In that very moment, the swarm moved. Moving together, they formed one big stream rising to the sky, before diving down and splitting into two separate lines of attack. Riveria's eyes widened at that. A response to the noise the leader made. Which meant that they were remote controlled.

It put the priority on killing Semiramis even higher than before, the high elf thought with narrowed eyes as the swarm rushed towards them. As the front line braced itself, weapons drawn, she took a deep breath, before starting her chant alongside her fellow mages.

"The flame will soon be released!"

"Harbinger of the end!"

"Wind that carries us all!"

As magic surged from her and the others, a seal appearing behind most of the mages, Riveria wished she could say that she kept an eye on the front, to make sure that nobody would die a needless death. However, there was a reason she left those jobs to others, like Finn and Gareth. One, she was busy casting. Two, she was also busy dodging.

As admirable as her fellow adventurers were, their enemy was still a swarm of bugs. While most of them clashed against the wall and got cut down in the process, it were too many. Some slipped through, most of them by just flying above them, and dropped like meteors to kill her and the other mages. While she managed to sidestep quickly and use her superior speed against the monsters, level two at most, she knew for a fact that the others could not run away like she did.

Her worries were cut short when she heard the familiar sound of ice being created rapidly. This was swiftly followed by the sounds of fiery explosions, crackling lightning and cutting wind, the last cutting off the head of one wasp like bug that tried to stab her through her chest. She snapped her head to the source of said wing and her eyes widened.

Luciel twirled her staff with a bloodthirsty grin as she spun around. Every time she snapped her wrist, causing the head of the staff to point sharply at an insect in her path, a small magic seal appeared around the crystal, before a head sized fire ball shot out of it. Riveria's eyes widened at the sight. Chantless Casting? It was rather fast, true, but it was more powerful than she expected, on the same level as Bell Cranel's Firebolts.

Was she stopping her spell to protect them? While it was a pity that she couldn't focus on stronger magic, any breathing room they could get was wo-

"Storm of destruction, breeze of healing!"

She was still continuing it, Riveria noted numbly, before gritting her teeth in order to focus again. Jumping to the side, a lightning bolt struck down on a moth like monsters before it could change course.

This was Concurrent Chanting on a level she could never imagine. It was impossible to cast two different spells at the same time, not to mention as effortlessly as she was doing it. Not only did one need to balance to different sequences of magic, so to say, they would need to focus on all of them at once. It was hard enough to move around while casting, even harder to fight while casting, but several casts at once?

It had to be a skill, as ridiculously strong as it sounded like. Gaian adventurers appeared to be highly irregular to begin with, Riveria wouldn't be surprised if life was that unfair.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she ducked under a bug trying to pierce her with her stinger. Right as it was above her, another fireball blasted it away into cinders.

Perhaps Riveria should take up Finn on those staff training sessions. Clearly she needed to learn how to fight and chant at the same time, instead of just being able to run. It may not be as effective as Luciel throwing around her spells, the cursed cheater, but it would help not feeling so defenseless at the face of this enemy. If somebody like Ryuu could do it, she could do it too.

With their area being relatively secured, the mage decided to search for her target before she finished her spell. She had to say, it was quite difficult to find Obsidian and his opponent at first, but once she spotted them, tracking them was not impossible. As a veteran who observed Bete at his best, seeing something faster than herself was nothing new. However, witnessing the battle, she wasn't sure if even the werewolf could keep up. She did not doubt his speed, but the fight she witnessed was more than that.

Obsidian was at a disadvantage due to him being stuck to the ground. True, he was rather agile due to jumping and pushing himself off on the terrain, but Semiramis knew that as well. Every time they passed a tree he used to change directions, it always made sure to cut it down before following him. Once it managed to reach him, it could navigate in more freely than him, utilizing hit and run tactics as it engaged quickly, before disengaging. However, Obsidian managed to avoid major damage as he managed to react to the attacks near perfectly, a grim focused look on his face.

What amazed her however were not the speed, but the sudden changes. One moment Obsidian almost blurred in her sight as he zigzagged across the field, making sure not to get close to his allies, the next moment he completely stopped, rooted to the ground in order to make use of his enemy's speed. Unfortunately, Semiramis had the same ability, stopping just short in the air for the swing to miss, before letting its arm blades descent that he had to dodge.

Another thing that Riveria noticed was that the lightning crackling around Obsidian were gone, yet he still maintained his speed. By all means, his magic was still supporting him, but was not used directly for attack for some reason.

Semiramis let out a loud growl as it traced after him, following every turn and weave he made as the latter decided to make it a race. But eventually, it suddenly sped up, causing Obsidian to turn around with a snarl. Semramis slammed its blades into Obsidian's axe and the two pushed against each other. It was the monster who lost that exchange, as the axe slightly dug into the edge of its natural weapons. A natural conclusion, the high elf thought, with what she knew about Obsidian's current equipment.

The axe was made of this "True Adamantium" after all, a metal she personally would rank above the material used for Desperate. The latter, despite its Invulnerability trait, could still be dulled with extensive usage, thus making mainteance of its edge a grueling process. The axe however had no such issue, remaining in the form it was forged into practically forever, no matter what circumstances. It was not the only high quality gear Obsidian had however.

Finding an opening as it knocked his right arm away, Semiramis immediately tried to cleave him in half from the left. However, he quickly raised left arm with a grunt. With the Vibranium absorbing the force and the Adamantium bringing the hardness, the alloy withstood the attack, with him barely budging as he threw his knee up with a snarl, his coat fluttering in the air as the insect's head snapped back by the force. However, unlike the rest of his equipment, the cloth was actually damaged. Considering that it was meant to be resistant to elemental hazards like fire and ice, it spoke volumes of the lethality of Semiramis' acid.

"Guys! That thing is controlling all the bugs by itself! Kill it and it kills the rest!" One of the male adventurers shouted desperately, shaking her out of her musings. Realizing that it was Welf Crozzo who yelled, and remembering his skill, Riveria grimly nodded to herself as she moved on to the next line of her spell. That confirmed her theory of the army being remotely controlled. However...

"Doesn't really change our plan, does it now?" Luciel muttered in dry amusement before sending yet another fireball towards the masses, burning dozens with one swift move. Seeing how it didn't slow the enemy army down at all, Riveria decided to take a closer look at her own people. The sight caused her to smile a little.

The casting was almost ready, the high elf realized. Only a little bit more time was needed, before it was completely. As she took account of how many mages, more specifically elves, were around her, coupled with her own personal skill, she was quite certain that nothing could survive what they were going to unleash. Though killing it with the power was never the issue, she thought with narrowed eyes. The issue was to hit it. With its speed, Riveria feared that it could just outrun the blast radius of her spells.

However, the pressure she felt had to be similar to the one the monster was feeling. After all, it did not make any progress against Obsidian, for while the latter couldn't damage it, it was the same vice versa. She could see the frustration as they created some distance between them, before staring at each other in a stand off. It meant it was at a disadvantage, considering that Riveria and the other mages were ready to destroy it the moment they were ready. Because of that, it had to be aware of its own mortality in that moment, with no real way out. No true victory was in sight.

Maybe because of that, it cackled quietly, voice filled with insanity, before looking up as it took a deep breath. Pure spite filled its eyes as it appeared to grin at Obsidian. In that moment, a shudder went down her spine. A lesson, almost faint in her memory, resurfaced to the front of her mind as she saw its mouth open.

When a monster was cornered, they were at their most dangerous. It was Obsidian who paid the price for not remembering it.

The monster's throat bulged for an instance, before the contents were released in a condensed ball of acid, flying at a speed way faster than an arrow. It was something it had never used before during the battle, causing Obsidian to hesitate for just a moment out of surprise. It was enough for Semiramis to hit true, even as he attempted to dodge to the right. He only had time to widen his eyes, before he stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, blood poured out his mouth before he coughed and spat out more of it on the ground. In agony, he turned his head to his left side. He stared at the void where his left arm and his heart was, the rest of the acid, that didn't shoot through him and landed on the ground, still ate at him.

It took everything it took from Riveria not to drop on her knees in disbelief, her long time experience with loss and past words keeping her together. However, some did not have the same gifts to fall back to.

" _ **DAAAAAAAAAAAD!**_ "

* * *

 **Exodus 14.5**

Lili growled. Here she thought the monster party during her level up were an obscene amount of monsters. No, how dared she think that, she hurt the dungeon's petty feelings by thinking that, who decided to one up her bitch self! There were so damn many of the flying nuisances, she already lost count how many she already killed!

Her magic was basically running on overdrive, as Static spread out of her weapon like a net, frying dozens of insects at once. She was sure she could have taken out larger batches, but she had to watch out for friendly fire.

Speaking of friendly, unlike the Pallum, had to resort swinging their weapons non stop like some rookie in panic. However, thanks to the large mass of enemies, they were always killing something with each rather sloppy stab, swing or cut. Still, they had been at it for what felt like a few minutes, but Lili could already feel on herself and see on others how their muscles were burning from the constant movements, though she and her team were better off than the others.

Another thing she had to thank her father for, that endurance training really was paying off right now. Still, endurance or not, even with her performing at a better level than others, she still got injured. Hissing in pain as her left arm was cut, she rammed left hand, dagger in it, into an oversized fly's head, before immediately pouring a potion over the wound. A mixed one, rather expensive, but also dealing with status effects. Why take such a potion? Well, those damn buggers, no pun intended, were also poisonous, because the day wasn't bad enough as it was. There was a faint feeling of numbness in her arm They were going through more antidotes than Soma made wine. And he made a ludicrous amount of wine. Of course, those with Abnormal Resistance, like most adventurers in this group, didn't need to worry about such silly things as paralyzing poison.

On the positive side, Lili and other people would definitely have Abnormal Resistance as an option in their next level up. Swinging her naginata, letting out a stream of lightning to numb or even kill some of the insects, in order to buy herself some time, she glanced around at the battlefield. Though that was nothing compared to the kill count Bell and Aiz specifically were racking up. While Welf did his fair share through his magic swords, he ran out of them eventually and was stuck to pure physical methods. The two who shared her trait of having short cast magic however only had their Mind as a limit. And they were not running out soon, judging from the amount of wind blasts and fire blasts flew around in the air. A part of her was jealous that Bell overtook her and the otehrs so early already, but that part was quickly suppressed by the gratitude of him being so reliable. Still, the number of the enemy were obscene enough that all those actions, on top of Ryuu zipping all over the front to help out while casting at the same time, were not enough to let her see a victory come to them any time soon. Still, the monsters, despite the strengths, were rather easy to kill on the other hand. Overall, the situation was rather frustrating, but doable.

Then she saw it.

The world appeared to freeze around her, as she witnessed the projectile rip Obsidian's side away. The roars of battle died out, leaving only a ringing noise in her head, as she dropped her weapon to the ground. Her eyes turned blank, its color fading as her expression was frozen in disbelief. As blood dropped down from his wound, mixed with the acid, her mind was in complete chaos.

No. No, this was not real. Her father couldn't be this thing, right? He was one of the strongest people she knew, there was no way he was that sloppy. He should have seen the attack from miles away. Hell, he wasn't even losing the battle, he was perfectly fine, this was a trick, yes, a trick, the poison must havecauseillusions _makingherseethislie-_!

" _ **DEAD**_!"

The distorted voice boomed through the area, causing Lili to slowly turn her head to the culprit as she was ripped out of her mind. She blankly stared at the bug slamming its blades together, head thrown back as it cackled at the sight of her enemy being as damaged as he was.

"Dead dead deaddeadeadea _deadeadeadead_ -"

As it taunted about its victory, something snapped in Lili's head. She looked at the ground frantically, searching for her weapon as a low giggle escaped her. After a while, she let out a satisfied breath. Liberty was right at her feet. Silly her. Grasping it in her hand, she twirled her dagger, her giggling dying down. Then, she snapped her head to the bug still cackling, her face immediately twisting into rage before she pressed down on the ground with her feet, about to jump at it.

However, before she could do so, she felt her world shift as another body knocked her down to the ground. Immediately, she growled as she tried to get the person off her, but the hold was too strong. Turning her head slightly, her anger wavered for a moment when she saw Lisa's concerned face looking back. But her rage immediately returned as she realized that she was stopping her from doing what she had to do. With that in mind, she redoubled her efforts to break free.

"Lili, you gotta-"

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! Let me go, let me go, I HAVE TO KILL IT!" The Pallum roared, her voice becoming hoarse as tears ran down her cheek. As her arms were restrained, she tried to dig her chin into the earth in order to force herself forward.

What the fuck did she know what she was feeling right now? How in the hell was she supposed to stay calm with her father essentially dead?! She knew that it was suicidal to attack it right now, but if she wasn't gonna do that, she felt she would betray her father more than she already did. Hell, she didn't even care if she was going to die. At least the pain would go away!

"No, you don't ge-"

Before Lisa could finish whatever she wanted to say, screams of agony filled the air, accompanied with the screeching of metal. Their heads snapped to the filthy bug, which appeared to struggle against some invisible force as its body was pressed down by something. Its blades bend towards its own body and cracks appeared on the carapace surrounding it as the insect was slowly forced into a ball like form.

Turning her head away from it in disbelief, she couldn't hold back the sob escaping her, as she saw who caused this. Obsidian, lips quivering with blood, extended his right, tensed arm, as he slowly tried to create a fist with his hand. It looked like he tried to crush an invisible item in his hand and Lili clenched her eyes shut as her teammate stopped pressing her down and stood up. Clutching her chest, her breath shivered.

He was using his last breath to hold the monster in place. Even as he was at death's door, he tried to help them kill it. Semiramis appeared to notice it, as its screams became even more frantic. Like a trigger was used, the swarm was moving again. She didn't know why they stopped while their leader was celebrating, but they probably sensed the danger it was in, so they decided to adventurers, including herself, responded in kind. Tears fell down her eyes, but a determined expression was on her face as she stood up and face the masses of bugs. This was her father's last act of defiance. The least she could do was-

"By the gods!"

Just as she was about to run at the bugs, the horrified yell caused her to click her tongue in irritation. Oh, what now?!

Whatever was going on caused others to turn around, at the same time as the bugs seemed to stagger in the air, as if sharing the disbelief their enemies had. Naturally, the adventurers who took a look also gave their...insightful comments.

"What the hell?!"

"I gotta hurl..."

"Stop bitching, you get used to it!" Luciel yelled in annoyance. When Lili turned her head to the sorcerer, she saw her freeze a few bugs in the air before smashing them with her staff as she spun on the spot. Then, she followed the disgusted looks of her fellow teammates with her wet eyes. When she saw what they did, she almost dropped her weapon again as she gaped at the sight with wide eyes.

Her father's entire missing side was not...missing anymore. His left arm and parts of his left side of his chest were right there were they were supposed to be. The only evidence that something was ever missing was the lack of clothing.

Only one thought filled her head as she looked upon this.

What.

Yes, she knew she should be crying tears of joy, be relieved he was alright, but all she could focus on was the fact that this bastard _never told her about that_. Since when could he heal damage like that?!

As if to mock her, Obsidian rolled his left shoulder, letting out a satisfied breath.

"Static Magneto." He cracked his neck with a low chuckle as he increased the force of whatever magic he was using, his hand getting closer to becoming a fist. "Thanks for staying still, you piece of shit."

Semiramis stared at him in shock, before letting out the loudest shrill it could muster, causing Lili and the others to cover their ears as the bugs took to the sky as fast as they could, before planning to crash down on the mages and Obsidian.

However, it was far too late for that.

Just as they planned to attack, magic flared up in the area and everyone turned their heads with relieved expressions on their face.

The magic was ready, as the seals behind them almost seemed to burst with energy. At the sight, the bugs increased in speed as they tried to stop them, and Semiramis struggled even more against Obsidian's hold, even managing to raise itself a little.

"Too slow~!" Luciel sang at the sight, a bloodthirsty grin on her face. Then, she slammed her staff down, followed by several other gestures made by her fellow mages as they unleashed their attack.

"Wynn Fimbulvetr!" Riveria shouted first, spreading her arms out with a cool, calculated expression.

Semiramis' eyes widened in fear at that, before turning its vengeful expression to Obsidian with all its might, its mouth opening to say something. It did not get to finish as ice covered the area in an instance, cold mist filling the air.

"Rea Laevateinn!"

"Cyclone Wrath!"

Immediately, the ice dissipated as a storm of fire and flames engulfed the frozen body, followed by an elemental barrage of magic. Explosions covered the area, causing Lili and the others to duck down and covering their faces. While the irregular monster was barraged by the magic, the bugs in the air froze, before dropping down lifelessly, like puppets being cut from their strings. As it rained monsters, the storm started to die out, causing the people to carefully raise their head, collectively asking the same question in their mind.

Was it dead?

As the dust settled, everyone tensed up when they could still see the shape of Semiramis. However, they soon relaxed when they noticed that the body was slowly dissolving, meaning that the monster crystal was gone. Some asked themselves how the body survived that much magic, but most people focused more on cheering for their victory, throwing their arms up in the air with laughter and cries of relief.

However, Lili did not cheer. Instead, she slowly made her way towards the man sitting on the ground, wiping sweat off his forehead. In front of him was his sister, giggling at him as she crossed her arms.

"…he crystal is gone," Lili heard Luciel say. The latter let out a disappointed sigh. "Pity, I wanted to investigate it."

Obsidian chuckled at that, but then perked up when he spotted his daughter approaching them. Grinning, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, hey Lili. Sorry abo-"

Not letting him finish, she threw her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. She felt him tense, startled by her action, but she ignored it as she hugged him tighter.

"You're an asshole," she muttered, a sob escaping her. This caused the man to chuckled softly, as he rubbed her hair gently.

"I'm an alive asshole."


End file.
